SHUTTLE LAUNCH, MARIO TAMA

I had the luxury to scout locations for a day prior to the launch and spent my time cruising up and down the waterfront in Titusville which sits about 10 miles due West of the launch pad. I finally settled on this spot and camped out behind the crowd with a 400 in the lovely Florida summer heat. At ignition, I fired the camera as the shuttle seemed to almost hover away from the pad before dashing off into the heavens. The roar from ignition didn't reach us until the shuttle was a mere speck in the sky.

c Mario Tama/Getty Images

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