T minus 3.5 hours: Alarm goes off at 2AM. I've had 2 hours of sleep, but it's time to get up and ride to Kennedy. I have to catch a bus to The Causeway so I can watch the rocket launch ...

T minus 1 hour: Bus arrives at the viewing area. The speakers are relaying launch control communications, and one announcement mentions that more people are witnessing the launch of the Phoenix Lander than any other unmanned launch. He says there are about 1200 guests. I know there are many more back at the beach by the hotel. Hundreds of people are out to view the launch of our spacecraft.

T minus 30 minutes: Call Mom to make sure she's up to watch the launch on the web. Someone turns off the spot lights around the area. The only light comes from the stars and the spotlights 5 miles away that are trained on the launch vehicle. The Delta II is little more than a dot on the horizon. Soon though, it will be much more.

T minus 5 minutes: People are crowding the edges of the viewing area to get the best view. Not that it will matter. As soon as it takes off, everyone will be able to see the rocket.

T minus 1 minute: Oh my god, it's actually going to launch! The rocket is going to blast off and send the Phoenix Lander on it's long journey to Mars.

T minus 30 seconds: Everyone starts straining to get that perfect look at the moment of launch.

T minus 5 seconds: Everyone joins in the count down.

4

3



2

1

... and the sky lights up.

It's 5:26:36AM, I'm 5 miles from the launch pad, and it looks like the Sun just came up. The smoke builds up and all I can see is a fireball flying into the night sky. A cheer erupts from the crowd, me included. The rocket continues to soar higher into the sky.

Soon, I can see the arc form across the sky. The light from the engines reflects off a thin layer of clouds, then the heat begins to tear open a hole in those clouds. Just as the Delta II bursts through that hole, 6 little lights appear and begin to the descend to Earth. Six of the nine solid rocket boosters have been jettisoned.

The spacecraft continues to arc across the sky, and a few seconds later, the last three boosters are jettisoned. A couple of minutes after launch and the Delta II is too far away to make out. All that remains is the contrail, high enough in the air to catch the sunlight just before the Sun breaks over the horizon.

That was 3 days ago. Phoenix is hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth ... and closer to Mars. Only a couple of hundred million more miles to go. And now preparation for landing begins. It's going to be an exciting 10 months.

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