Atlantis sitting on pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center
Excerpt from poem by Howard Nemerov
Witnessing the Launch of the Shuttle Atlantis
"So much with noise and smoke and rising clear
To vanish at the limit of our vision
Into the light blue light of afternoon—
Appeared no more, against the void in aim,
Than the flare of a match in sunlight, quickly snuffed."
God speed Atlantis, safe journey....
I still remember seeing the first shuttle land at Edwards AFB, just before I wlked out to go and write a physics exam. The shuttle has had a good long career. Now where is the next generation? Even if we just had a slightly updated version that incorporated all that has been learned over these 30 years of operation, that would be something.
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