I was on my honeymoon back in ‘99 in Orlando and was sitting in my room watching the news before bed… They mentioned that the shuttle was just getting ready to launch and showed the countdown. It was only minutes away.

So, even being about 50 miles away, I figured I’d grab my cameras and go try and watch it.

I walked outside at T minus 1 minute… And just after the launch, I could see the most brilliant object I’d ever seen in the sky. It was still awesome even @ 50 miles. I watched it until the booster rockets detached and the shuttle itself slowly faded into the starry sky.

This launch was historic because it was the first female commander (Collins) & was the heaviest launch ever. It was carrying the Chandra X-Ray observatory.

Camera didn’t catch it due to condensation from leaving my ice cold hotel room…