Folks,

I've worked in the space program since 1976, a lot of that time being in the launch operations area. I NEVER get tired of launches. If you ever get a chance to watch a launch of any kind from the Cape or Vandenberg, it's something you won't forget.

I'll tell you, though, whenever I watch a Shuttle lift-off, I still count up in my head from 1-132. (132 is the number of seconds the solid rocket boosters burn.) As we all saw during the Challenger launch failure, the crew cannot escape while the solids are burning. Several years ago, I was talking to a senior NASA official I know fairly well who had a console position for Shuttle launches. When I told him I still counted to 132, he said, "Me, too."