The highlight of our Florida trip was the interval of about 35 seconds in which we were able to watch the ascent of STS-123, the space shuttle Endeavour on its way to the International Space Station. It was twelve hours of waiting (albeit in a fascinating NASA exhibit center) for less than a minute of launch, but it was absolutely worth it! The mission launched on March 11 and landed safely at KSC on March 26.

These photos aren't very good. Every professional photographer whose web site I researched said, "If you're not specifically there as a professional photographer, forget about pictures and just enjoy the launch." Their point is that without expensive gear including very long, fast lenses, and without a perfect vantage point, you will waste your launch experience taking pictures that aren't as good as the ones you can download for free from NASA's web site.

The photographers are right, and I was wise enough to know that. So I watched the launch with my eyes and just blindly pointed the camera in the direction of the launch without really paying attention to it or looking through the viewfinder. The resulting photos, posted here, are the result of cropping wide shots to eliminate the extraneous background. By ignoring the camera and just blindly pushing the shutter button, I got photos to remember the event, but didn't compromise the true experience of watching the launch with my own eyes.