On November 16, 2009, I stood among hundreds of awestruck visitors at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, eyes fixed on Launch Pad 39A. The countdown reached zero, and Atlantis — mission STS-129 — roared to life.
A brilliant flame pierced the Florida sky, followed by a deep, rolling thunder that shook the ground seconds later. It was a perfect day: clear skies, sea breeze, and that surreal mix of science and poetry that only a rocket launch can create.
Atlantis carried spare parts to the International Space Station — ordinary cargo, perhaps, but an extraordinary moment in human ambition. Few knew it then, but this was one of the last times a Space Shuttle would ever rise into orbit.
As the shuttle arced out over the Atlantic, its flame fading to a golden dot, I remember thinking: this is what progress sounds like.
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