Final Shuttle Discovery Launch

I'm drinking Tang today.  It's the end of an era - the final launch of the space shuttle Discovery.  

A child of the late 60s and 70s, manned space exploration has always been a part of my life.  I was in high school when the first shuttle launched so I'm sad to see this period in history draw to a close. 

If you pay attention to these sorts of things, this is the third-to-the-last scheduled flight of the space shuttle.  The final flight for Endeavor, first launched in 1992, is scheduled for April 19. The final one for Atlantis, first launched in 1985, is set for June 28.  And that will be the end of the space shuttle program.  

I'm no space geek, but my sister and I did attempt to emulate space travel heroes by hanging upside down from the rear-facing seat in my mom's station wagon on more than a few occasions when we were kids.  I remember well where I was when both the Challenger and Columbia accidents occurred.  I loved Tom Hanks in Apollo 13 and Jack Nicholson's character in Terms of Endearment.  Our family has on two separate occasions serendipitously viewed the shuttle launch (once from 80 miles south of Cape Canaveral in Vero Beach and another time from Orlando, which is 55 miles west).  Most importantly, I have long admired and appreciated those courageous enough to make space exploration their vocation. 

In 2001, we took the kids to the Kennedy Space Center.  That's the launch site and shuttle in the background.

So at 4:50 p.m. today, you can bet that I'll be watching and toasting that crew (with Tang, of course).   How about you?