The shuttle pierced thin, wispy clouds as it raced out over the Atlantic, its exhaust trail tinged peach, orange and red by the setting sun and surpassing the nearly full moon in brightness.
12.
The Atlas reached a peak altitude of 9800 feet ( 2900 meters ) and tumbled end-over-end through its own exhaust trail until T + 50 seconds when the Range Safety officer sent the destruct command.
13.
And I am reassured because it helps me dimly recall the kind of future I used to expect when I was a kid standing on the beach watching the exhaust trails from Apollo launches arc across the sky.
14.
Atlantis and its crew of five soared into a clear sky at 6 : 13 p . m ., with a rising full moon in the background and the setting sun turning the exhaust trail a beautiful gold and peach.
15.
Appearing first as a grayish-white blob directly overhead, accompanied by a white exhaust trail and twin sonic pops, it executed a tight turn and made its dead drop at 18, 000 feet per minute, at an angle seven times steeper than an airliner's, before touching the runway and unfolding its red, white and blue drag chute.
