Liftoff Of The Space Shuttle Discovery

Photo courtesy of NASA.
Yesterday's successful launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery put an American spacecraft back into earth orbit after a 2 1/2 year absence, demonstrating once again the bravery and adventurous spirits of our astronauts.

Space travel is a very dangerous endeavor, and many lives have been lost since man first took on the challenge to escape the chains of earth's gravity. The men and women who aspire to fly into space do so with a full understanding of the risks - being an astronaut means accepting the fact that the odds that you won't be returning home alive are higher than with any other occupation.

After all, having a seat on the space shuttle means being strapped to roughly 2 1/2 million pounds of fuel during launch, of which almost a quarter of a million pounds is highly explosive liquid hydrogen! And of course re-entering the earth's atmosphere at over 17,000 miles per hour leaves little room for error should something go wrong.

So why do astronauts so eagerly sign up for such a dangerous mission? Well, all astronauts share several attributes. First and foremost, they have a tremendous sense of adventure. The possibility of going where few humans have ever been and perhaps eventually going where no one has been before holds a strong attraction for these brave souls.

And then there is plain old pride - pride in themselves and pride in their country. Without exception, the men and women who apply for the astronaut training program are exceptional human beings who believe they are mentally and physically tough enough to excel at any task under any conditions.

They also have a profound love for their country and they believe strongly that the United States Of America should lead the rest of the world into the nether regions of God's great universe. And they all believe they're just the man or woman to do it!

Yesterday's shuttle launch put America back on track in our quest for an eventual manned trip to Mars and points beyond. Every time an American spacecraft leaves the planet it's another step in that direction, allowing NASA to gain more experience and knowledge that helps us get a little closer to our goals. And as today's picture demonstrates, a shuttle liftoff is quite an impressive sight!

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