Countdown

Discovery

"For the first time since the Columbia tragedy, NASA's countdown clocks were ticking down the hours, minutes and seconds to launch, heightening the anticipation for a Wednesday liftoff of Discovery."

I was living in Texas when Columbia exploded; the sound woke me up. I didn't know what it was at first and only realized what had happened when about an hour after I got up, I turned on the TV and saw the terrible news.

I had watched the Columbia lift-off a few days before, not because I'm especially interested in that kind of thing but because I grew up during the Apollo years when watching lift-off was something you did and that habit's just stayed with me. Because I had watched the earlier coverage, I knew something about the astronauts aboard Columbia and was aware they were supposed to come back that weekend. It was such a pretty day, too, clear sunny skies, very blue and calm. A terrible thing, I'll never forget it.

I'll be watching this lift-off, too. Fly Safe Discovery!