CJ: Space launch memories

MSNBC is asking people to send in their favorite memories surrounding rocket and shuttle launches in America's space program, including Tuesday's Shuttle Discovery launch. Email your pictures and videos and stories to . Your stories:

Sharing the experience
I live in Mississippi but I have a daughter and two grandsons that live in Orlando. We were on the phone as the shuttle took off this morning. They watched it as I did on TV & then they went outside and I was able to hear them as they watched in from outside their home. It was the neatest thing to be able to share it with the boys, all these miles away.
--Molly, Mississippi

From the very beginning
I have a very vivid memory of my father taking us out in the back yard back on a cool October night in 1957 to catch a glimpse of Sputnik, that very first satellite as it passed overhead. The early manned spaceflights always stopped the whole country.  Everyone would gather around an available television and watch.  The first three suborbitals, John Glenn on his three orbit ride, going around the world in under four hours, Yuri Gargarin before him, what wonderful recollections from a time long past.  Watching the launch of STS-114 this morning, I felt the same thrill; my heart beat a little faster, the silent prayer, the welling of tears that came with its successful launch.  And the pictures of the retreating earth!  Simply glorious.
--R Smith, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

A view from boot camp
In 1990, I was in boot camp at Naval Training Center, Orlando.  I remember being in the waiting area for a dental appointment along with another 30 recruits from other companies that I didn't know.  A company commander from a different company ran into the seating area and quickly mustered us up and saying we are going outside to look at something.  He marched 30 recruits outside into formation so we can see the shuttle launch.  I'll never forget how excited he was and how awesome it was to see that the first time.
--Marco, Goose Creek, South Carolina

Mercury memories
I was but a teenager when Allen Shepard was launched into space in his Mercury Capsule.  We were on our senior picnic and listened on a transistor radio for the count down and launch.  By the time I was in junior college I would drive over to Merritt Island to visit a high school friend.  His father worked at the Space Center and we would go camp down on the Banana River and be as close to the launches as possible.  Early Gemini shots were a blue flame and not that thrilling.  Then came Saturn and the ground rumbled under our feet.  An unbelievable ball of fire behind a large rocket.  By 1969 I was in the jungles of Vietnam. On one particular day in that year, we were in leech infested water up to our waists when I got a call over the field artillery fire net that me had landed on the moon.  I will never forget.
--Sam Ault

A life awed by space
As a kid of about 8 or 9 I remember my mother allowing me to be late for school so we could watch a shuttle launch together on TV in upstate New York. I'll never forget the pride and awe she had for the machine and the people who make it fly. That, along with the launch itself, had a major impact on me. Years later, attending college in Florida, I was able to see more than a dozen Shuttle launches from the Press Site, VIP site, and my home in Brevard County. They never ceased to amaze and inspire me. Like others, I was most impressed by the sound which reverberates through your whole body. It was amazing to me that there actually people inside. My story came full circle when I came to Houston to work in mission control. I am still here today, and even more impressed with the skill and dedication of everyone who helps America fly in space - both with the Shuttle and the Space Station.
--Paul, Houston, Texas

Thank you, NASA
I grew up in Cocoa Beach where the space program has always been a part of my life. My father retired from the Kennedy Space Center and I have watched a lot of launches. The most impressive is a night launch, but no matter what any launch from Kennedy or The Canaveral Air Force Station I still get goose bumps knowing that our future is to explore space and to grow as a species (humanity). My thought and prayers are with the brave souls and their families that have given the ultimate sacrifice for what they love. As they reach for the stars and the heavens may these brave people continue to inspire our country to continue and realize the privileges we have in the United States and that we stand behind the programs for research and space exploration. To all of those that work in and behind the scenes at NASA, Thank you for the future that my children and grandchildren will have as we are a small planet in a vast universe. The astronauts get alot of the credit that is well deserved and we need to give it to the support personnel also.
--John I., Pompano Beach Fla.

'Indescribable' feeling
I work at Kennedy Space Center and I remember the first times I watched a launch and landing. The feeling was almost indescribable as I stood outside along with other employees and watched the shuttle appear over the trees heading into space. The landing is a different event altogether as I looked up and watched the shuttle grow in size as it came closer, then all of a sudden I hear the twin sonic booms. The few launches and landings that I have had the privilege of witnessing were some of the most memorable experiences of my life, and I hope to add some more with Discovery's scheduled launch on July 13, 2005
--Jake Balao, Ormond Beach, Fla.

Gloria Mongelluzzo

Things to do at least once in a lifetime
On May 19, 1996, at 6:30a.m., I had the opportunity to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor during a vacation at Daytona Beach. Seeing a Shuttle launch had always been on my "Things I Hope to Do at Least Once in My Lifetime" list, and I could not believe my good fortune at the perfect timing. What a way to celebrate my 39th birthday also. We took a boat excursion from Ponce Inlet and got as close to the Cape Canaveral shore as permitted. A hush settled over the boat as the sun was rising on one side, and the Shuttle was launched on the other. Several people, myself included, became teary with pride and emotion as we watched the brilliant fireball carrying those brave astronauts streak across the early morning sky. Then someone started to clap, and it slowly spread throughout the crowd until the entire boat was clapping and cheering! It was a magnificent experience, and a thrill that I will always remember, and still talk about. On that day, I developed a new appreciation for the space program and have followed every Shuttle mission since then. I still refer to the Endeavor as "my shuttle". Attached is a photo of that morning taken by my good friend, Gloria Mongelluzzo.
--Debra Walls,  Pittsburgh, Penn.

Life-long NASA fan
I live between Orlando and Daytona Beach, and have lived in entral Florida my entire life. I have ALWAYS been a NASA fan and supporter. I was 10 years old and ironically in Canada with family when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, but you can bet everyone was watching on TV and we were so proud. I was devastated when I was rousted out of the shower to see the twin contrails of Challenger's explosion in the cold Florida sky in 1986. I was never complacent about shuttle launches again. I would cheer like an idiot when it took off safely, and when the double-bang of re-entry startled me, I would say "Welcome home!" On a clear day, I can see launches from my front yard, and night launches are spectacular! I was again devastated when Columbia broke up -- I pray they have learned enough that that never happens again. I will be on the beachside this afternoon to try to see Discovery launch, cheering like an idiot. Spaceflight is inherently risky, but I believe it is worth it!
--Susan Martin, DeBary, Fla.

Challenger memories
I was privileged to be in Orlando in 1983 and got to see the maiden voyage of the space shuttle called Challenger. We got up real early and drove to Titusville to watch the launch. It was a very bright, clear day. I still remember the noise as those rocket engines fired up. I recall the earth literally shaking as the Challenger lifted off the pad. It was such a clear day, we could see the booster rockets separate. I can still smell the burning of the rocket fuel, as Challenger lifted off into space. I remember the enormous pride I felt that day, knowing that our great nation could put this fantastic rocket into space. I remember all the people in the parking lot cheering as the liftoff occurred. To me, this was America's finest hour. I still feel that same pride, every time I watch a launch on television. I also remember the sadness I felt the day that same shuttle blew up just seconds into another flight. I was in the back of an ambulance, on the way to Sioux Falls, S.D.. No, I wasn't the patient, I was the ambulance attendant. It made for an awfully long trip. My hope is to be able to see the shuttle land some day before I die. I'm sure the feeling would be just as great, seeing it return, as it was watching it go into space. Oh ya, I got terribly sunburned that day waiting for the launch, but it was well worth it. Thank you for giving me the thrill of a lifetime.
--Mel Reinke, Ortonville, Minn.

Looking south, a spectacular view
I lived in Savannah, Ga., for six years and was able to view the shuttle launches on clear nights from Tybee Island even though KSC was some 350 miles away. Tybee is a barrier island about 20 minutes from Savannah. I think the most spectacular launch I've seen was the launch of STS 113 on the night of Nov.23, 2002. It took about two minutes from the time the shuttle left the pad until it came up over the horizon where it was visible to us. We always knew when we would have a visual because the whole south sky would light up bright orange. That particular night was so clear that we were able to get a distinguishable view of the solid rocket boosters separating as the shuttle made it's way up the coast en route to the ISS. It was the last in person launch we saw, not because of the Columbia accident, but because we moved to Oklahoma in June of 2003. When we first started going out to Tybee for night launches in 1997, only a handful of people would gather to watch, but by November of 2002, the whole pier was full of onlookers and astronomers with their telescopes and hand held radios.
--Brian Sandeen, Yukon, Okla.

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