Lift off! Woooo!

Well, I'm slightly going to break one of my blogging rules to say that I watched Discovery's launch in the big screen auditorium at work today. Second row, center. I may make it on the news. There was a massive burst of applause at liftoff, followed by several minutes of a room full of people holding their breath, and a final burst of applause when the external fuel tank pulled away from the orbiter. That camera on the external fuel tank is new, by the way, and what a very cool camera it is. Watching the orbiter pull away was neat. Or is nifty the properly geeky term? I don't know what it was like for the average person with a passing interest watching, but where I was... it was intense. Now hopefully, the touchdown will go just as well.