'Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth ...'

Fourth of July 2006 - Shuttle Launch: 'Discovery'

High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.




The STS-121 crew displays the spirit of the Fourth of July holiday with their flags and their eagerness to launch as they stride out of the Operations and Checkout Building. Leading the way are Pilot Mark Kelly (left) and Commander Steven Lindsey (right). Behind them are Mission Specialists (second row) Lisa Nowak and Michael Fossum; (third row) Stephanie Wilson and Piers Sellers; and (at the rear) Thomas Reiter, who represents the European Space Agency. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett


For more NASA photos:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/multimedia/launch_gallery.html