Lit up with anticipation    We arrive at the launching site    The sky is still dark, nearing dawn    On the Florida coastline       Circling choppers slash the night    With roving searchlight beams    This magic day when super-science    Mingles with the bright stuff of dreams       Floodlit in the hazy distance    The star of this unearthly show    Venting vapours, like the breath    Of a sleeping white dragon       Crackling speakers, voices tense    Resume the final count    All systems check, T minus nine    As the sun and the drama start to mount       The air is charged -- a humid, motionless mass    The crowds and the cameras,    The cars full of spectators pass    Excitement so thick -- you could cut it with a knife    Technology -- high, on the leading edge of life       The earth beneath us starts to tremble    With the spreading of a low black cloud    A thunderous roar shakes the air    Like the whole world exploding       Scorching blast of golden fire    As it slowly leaves the ground    Tears away with a mighty force    The air is shattered by the awesome sound       Like a pillar of cloud, the smoke lingers    High in the air    In fascination -- with the eyes of the world    We stare...