I've got 20 years on you Jeff, but I still find these launches exciting. It was/is a complete non-news event here in the UK. I only found out due to someone posting it on another forum. It's a shame they aren't publised more.

Stewart

: Always a thrill to watch the launches . . . I was born in 1955,
: so can remember watching launches of the Mercury, Gemini and
: Apollo programs. Kids had their favorite astronauts, with the
: same enthusiasm as their favorite baseball or football players .
: . . Glenn, Carpenter, Grissom, Schirra, Armstrong, etc.

: Hard to believe that there's only one launch left on the schedule,
: in July 2011, that the era of Americans in space will be over .
: . . at least for a while!!

: Jeff

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