Discovery returns to flight!
 

10:39 am EDT - OV-103 Discovery returns America into space on STS-114. Perfect launch so far. Plenty of TV cameras (many in HDTV) captured the liftoff as Discovery 'went uphill'.

Discovery will dock with the International Space Station early Thursday morning.

Watched as it lifted above the tree line here in Jacksonville Beach. Hazy day and all we saw were the smoke trails.

Not as impactful as the day in February of 03 when I still lived in Dallas and a really clear morning left a double trail in the sky telling a very very sad story.

God Bless and keep them safe this time.

That's one thing I miss about living in FL -- seeing the space shuttles take off. I hope that we'll be living in FL one day so my kids will be able to see it.

Saw the first launch of Challenger back in 1983 (from about 40 miles west of the Cape) and also saw the reentry of Columbia from San Antonio back in 1998. Missed seeing Columbia lost back in 2003 - I was living in Plano back then, and the sketchy initial news reports made it first sound like it broke up over Dallas.

Shuttle launches to the northeast will be a common occurrence, as the International Space Station orbits at a 51.6-degree inclination from the equator.

I got some great pictures from the launch if any of you would like to see them.

http://photobucket.com/albums/b388/astroaphi/

These were taken between the OPF Bay 3 and the VAB.

It pays to have a KSC line badge! :D Us mere mortals hafta luck out on getting tickets for a bus to the viewing area on the Banana River Causeway (no more private vehicle passes) six miles away, or line the shore near Titusville or Jetty Park!