The launch went well. The space shuttle Discovery lifted off with a jolt and rapid rat-a-tat-tatting blast, then some roll and yaw and another jolt. The solid-rocket boosters fell away, and the shuttle climbed up out of the atmosphere. Soon the mission commander and pilot saw the earth's curved horizon before them in the orbiter's front window. The crew, dead serious now in the early moments of the flight, proceeded in efficient monotones through checklists, opening and closing switches, scanning the warning lights on the cockpit panels, coordinating with mission control. Fourteen minutes into the flight, Houston relayed a message of...
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