10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1......LIFT OFF!

30 seconds after launch.

3 to 4 minutes after liftoff.

Up, up & away!

Fuel tanks separating from shuttle.

The trail lingers for about 10 minutes.

This is one of the last times I will be able to see this sight from my driveway...lift off of the space shuttle. I've always loved the night launches, and to be able to see it this clearly from my own front yard is very cool! It was a clear night, and the sun was just going down, which is where the orange in the trail is coming from...normally it's all white. God speed, Discovery, safe journey and safely back home again. *elaine* {if you enlarge the pics here, you should be able to see the little white dot that is the shuttle, and even the separation of the external fuel tanks}