I had a big poster of this photo tacked up in my room as a teen. I love the night lighting, the serene glow of Columbia atop her all-white stack, one quiet moment before the onslaught of chaos and fire. It is the deep breath before the plunge, if you will. One of my favorite images from the Space Shuttle Program.
Today is the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight into orbit — the first human to orbit our planet. It’s also Yuri’s Night, a worldwide celebration of human spaceflight! Check out the link for a party near you!
It is ALSO the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle flight; you can see beautiful white Columbia below, awaiting her first launch. (I had a poster of this when I was in high school; put it on my ceiling so I could stare at it before I went to sleep.)