About an hour ago, the Space Shuttle Endeavor — under the command of Mark Kelly, the adoring, hopeless romantic husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — blasted off into space on its final mission with hundreds of thousands estimated to have been looking on from the ground in Florida.
Reports the LA Times:
In the moments before blastoff, Kelly called Endeavour “this incredible ship,” thanked the thousands of space workers who kept it flying — and addressed the country.
“As Americans we endeavor to build a better life than the generation before and endeavor to be a united nation. In those efforts we are often tested,” he said. “This mission represents the power of teamwork, commitment and exploration.
“It is in the DNA of our country to reach for the stars and explore. We must not stop.”
Here’s some pretty cool video of the launch, followed by a few awe-inspiring photos I ran across of it…
A pic Stephanie Gordon snapped from the window of a commercial flight.
Here’s a great photo former Jezebel editor Anna Holmes took from the ground with her iPhone. She has more photos from the launch here.
(via ABC/Getty)
(via NASA)
(via Anna Holmes)
(via)
(via Flickr)
(via Flickr)