Being a local Floridian, I’ve had the chance all my life to see the Space Shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. However on Sunday, March 15th 2009, nothing was like the time on that wonderful Spring day on the beach, in Cape Canaveral. The sun was warm, the water cool, the people were active, and food was being cooked and served.

All up and down the area of the Florida Space Coast, people were out and about, enjoying their day until they could see the Space Shuttle Discovery launch that night at 7:43 PM. Their mission? To take off and head to the International Space Station, bringing along with them the final pair of US-built Solar Wings and the last segment of the Space Station’s backbone-like main truss for Mission STS-119. Around the initial launch pad, the cities of Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, and Cocoa Beach were sprawling with business and activities.

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