Somewhere out there, Scotty is smiling, because clearly Discovery’s engines can take it very well.

I’m very happy about this morning’s successful launch – I missed seeing it live, but watched a replay via BBC News.

Now if we can get on with things and do the science, and make this return to space count for something, that would be a very good thing.

I know a lot of people wonder why we spend a lot of money on space; I sometimes wonder why we don’t spend more. You can’t always put a dollar value on scientific exploration, and the technological advances that are driven by the space program may serve us in unexpected ways in the future.

Image title: Return To Space

Originally uploaded by GinnyRED57.