Leaping Above The Sky One Last Time

"After a heart-stopping pause at T-31 seconds, Space Shuttle Atlantis left Earth and leapt above the sky this morning. This is the last time a space shuttle will ever do this - and everyone in attendance at the launch site knew it.

Up until a short time before launch gloomy weather forecasts had left a sense of doubt among all who gathered here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Half an hour or so before the scheduled launch time the weather suddenly started to improve - and with it, the crowd's expectations.

I am not going to write about all the geeky stuff. Everyone else is doing that."