Witnessing a space shuttle launch from Florida was one of the most awe-inspiring experiences of my life. Standing along the coast, surrounded by the buzz of excited spectators, I could feel the anticipation build as the countdown echoed from loudspeakers. When the engines ignited, an intense, blinding flame erupted beneath the shuttle, and a moments later, the deep, rumbling roar hit like a wave—powerful enough to shake your chest. As the shuttle rose, trailing a brilliant plume of fire and smoke against the sky, it was impossible not to feel a mix of wonder, pride, and even a little humility. Watching something so massive lift gracefully into the heavens left me almost speechless each time. It was a reminder of what human ingenuity, dedication and hard work can achieve and  moments I’ll never forget.

I was fortunate enough to witness three space shuttle launches in person before the shuttle program came to a close in July 2011. They were STS-101 (Atlantis) on May 19, 2000, STS-109 (Columbia) on March 1, 2002 and STS-132 (Atlantis) on May 14, 2010.

Additionally, living in the north central Texas area has also proved to be a good place to view re-entry landing ground tracks for space shuttle’s deorbiting and returning to the Kennedy Space Center. I bet I must have seen 8-10 early morning re-entries through the years, and each was as exciting to watch as the last.

Click on a mission patch below to be taken to pages where you can view the images I captured of those launches.