It was a picture perfect launch…did anyone else watch?
Redwolf
No, I didn’t watch… that is, my usual view was blocked by rain clouds and rain. The backyard seat sometimes does not yield a good vantage point. 
Yes, got it on the News.
Marvellous stuff.
Fingers crossed they all get back safely.
Slan,
D.
Glad the launch went off correctly and without issue. Now to worry about re-entry. I have part of the Columbia Crash report tacked up on my cube wall- its how some of the technical issues and subsequent decisions were sanitized as it went up the food chain-engineering by viewgraph. Hopefully those lessons were learned.
I watched! There were the usual afternoon thunderheads packed solid around the east side of Tampa Bay, and those were in the way for part of it, but the shuttle came up right between two of them and was visible for the remainder of the flight up.
This was the best daytime launch I’ve seen. You could see the shuttle at the head of an orange streak of fire. It must have been very clear, because even I could see it. The humidity is on the low side and there isn’t much haze, so that helped. I was on the 10th floor balcony, but it must have been visible from the ground because we could hear shouting from the crowds over on the beach.
One night launch was really spectacular, but previous daytime launches have been just specks. You couldn’t see the shuttle itself, but only the trail.
I’m off to the grocery store now. Have to be back home before the parade starts, because it is coming down my street this year!
I’d like to see that at nite- that has to be spectacular!!
It’s the best fireworks show on/off Earth!
hmm, I forgot about the shuttle launch. I thought this might be a thread about Godspeed You! Black Emporer