It was an addition to help ensure safety, but the addition of cameras to the Shuttle made today’s launch so much more interesting and enlightening — watching live pictures from the orbiter instead of just a white dot as seen from Earth was amazing; being there when the external tank separated and seeing the ghost of thrusters firing in space… it was a realization — even though I still think the shuttle program is pretty much pointless — that we still can leave the planet, albeit only a short distance.
From out there, Earth is beautiful. It’s too bad that it gets so much less peaceful the closer you get.
