By Majestic Images Photography and Sullivan Independent News

While visiting family in Florida} Sullivan residents Mike and Cinnamon Davidson} owners of Majestic Images Photography} were in the right place at the right time; they were able to witness what could be the space programs last night launch. There are only four more shuttle launches scheduled. The space program is ending at the end of the year.
The STS-130 mission of the Endeavour is taking a new section called Tranquility to be added on to the international space station. It is planned to be a 13-day mission.
One of the astronauts is from Creve Coeur} Missouri.
Lieutenant Colonel} Robert L. Behnken of the United State Air Force attended Pattonville High School. He graduated from Washington University in 1992. He is the lead spacewalker on this mission.
The shuttle was originally scheduled for a 4:39am launch on February 7th. We got there around midnight. It was a cold night for Florida. We thought there would be a lot more people} but there were only a few hundred. It was cancelled about 4:30am because of low cloud cover and low visibility should the mission have to abort and the shuttle have to make an emergency landing. It was a heartbreaker for those of us who were there. Some had been there since 7pm. We packed up our gear and headed back to where we were staying. The next night we arrived at Kennedy Space Center about 10:30.

We boarded a bus, after having our gear sniffed by a large German Sheppard, and headed out to the astronauts quarters. There, we had the honor of seeing the 6 astronauts, all dressed in their orange jump suits, come from the building, waving and posing for pictures before boarding the bus that would take them to the launch pad.
Having a lot of time to fill in we climbed in the warm car and watch a movie on a portable DVD player to pass the time. At about 3:45 we walked back up/ staked out our spot right behind the massive official time c1ock, and got ready for the thrill of a lifetime.
We could hear the countdown over the loud speaker. The anticipation had our hearts racing. As the countdown reached o we could see the shuttle start to move. See the smoke and steam start to billow. It took several seconds for the noise to travel the 3-mile distance and then the ground started to shake. The sky lit up with brilliant colors as we watched the shuttle leave the launch pad and climb. We could see it as it went through a small low cloud bank and come out the other side of it. It was like nothing you could ever image. It was incredible.
If this is something that you want to see-and you should- there are only 4 missions left. The next is April 5th.