Shuttle now in orbit, coasting toward apogee, with an orbit circularization burn in about a 1/2-hour. I didn't think they were going to make the launch window - they had to hold at T-minus 5 minutes to re-load some software. I swear they had mere seconds left in the launch window when they got the word that they had re-loaded successfully. I was thinking "they aren't going to make it - computer stuff always takes twice as long as you think it will"

Cool. I still think the landings are more exciting. It is like the shuttle is snowboarding through the atmosphere, turning left & right to lose speed, before straightening out and flying over LA with a big double sonic boom! Loveit! When it finally appears over the landing strip it is still so high up that it is practically diving straight down out of the sky, then levelling off just in time to plant its wheels on the runway! LIKE A BRICK !!! It is so cool.