Today, we got back on the path. We returned to space.

After better than two years, the shuttle program rose from the ashes of another disaster, and has shown off the triumphant launch that still sets my heart to pounding. With every launch, I feel we’re closer to grabbing the future that I was promised as a boy, and that’s a future I wanna see.

When I was growing up, I felt I was in just the right generation to hit the cosmos. Now, I think I’m one or two too early, but days like today just make me believe that we’ll actually do it. I just pray that all stays well, and that these brave souls return to the Earth that launched them, and that they return safe.