A much more worthy story about heroic people -- people who really deserve the respect of America's young people -- doing something for which they must be admired.

A patched-up Atlantis blasted off with seven astronauts Friday on the first space shuttle flight of 2007, putting NASA back on track after a run of bad luck and scandal that included a damaging hailstorm and a lurid love triangle.

Its big orange fuel tank covered with white blotches where the foam insulation had been repaired, the spaceship rose from its seaside launch pad with a roar and climbed into a clear and still-brightly lit sky at 7:38 p.m. EDT, setting a course for the international space station.

The countdown was nearly flawless, and the shuttle smoothly settled into orbit around the Earth.

During the 11-day flight, Atlantis' astronauts will deliver a new segment and a pair of solar panels to the orbiting outpost. They will also swap out a member of the space station's crew.

It was picture perfect -- though my wife and I always hold our breaths until we hear those haunting words -- "Go with throttle up" -- that we remember with great sadness from the doomed Challenger launch. No doubt we will do something similar 11 days from now.

Godspeed, crew of Shuttle Atlantis!

And best wishes to the crew from church who are working on this mission five miles down the road at JSC even as I type, and to everyone else associated with the space program and this mission (yes, including you, John C.). Your contributions to pushing back the "final frontier" are noted and appreciated deeply by this space geek.

Posted by: Greg at 12:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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