At 10:39am Eastern Standard Time this morning, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida – marking the 114th Space Shuttle Mission since the Shuttle’s maiden voyage in April of 1981 – and the first since the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003.

With 2,500 guests in attendance, and nearly the entire world watching, the 4.5 million pound spacecraft, carrying seven crew members, its first female commander, and, for the first time, 102 mounted cameras, rocketed into space amid a sea of cheers from the live crowd – and a sigh of relief from those watching around the world. Considering that this was the first mission since the second Space Shuttle exploded – everyone was concerned that this mission would wind up like the Challenger did on Jan. 28, 1986 – and the Columbia did on February 1, 2003.

As I watched the countdown get closer and closer to liftoff, I have to admit that I was sitting on the edge of my seat praying that this would be a successful mission – and thankfully – it was. And as I watched Discovery get smaller and smaller on my television screen as it journeyed into space, I thanked God that the Shuttle successfully made it into orbit to begin its twelve day mission, which includes three spacewalks – and docking with the International Space Station. At the end of mission, the Shuttle will re-enter Earth’s orbit over Texas – and prepare to land back at the Kennedy Space Center.

This mission marks an entirely new phase in America’s quest to explore outer space and beyond. Now that this mission was a success, NASA and the White House plan to launch future missions to both The Moon and Mars – and maybe even beyond. Even before NASA knew this mission would be a success, they have been planning future shuttle fights – and are currently researching ways to send a crew of astronauts where no man has gone before.

Watching this flight, I was reminded of how the world felt on July 20, 1969, when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon – marking the first time humans landed on a planet other than our own. Although I was not yet born, I could only imagine how we as a society felt as we watched Neil Armstrong take that, “giant leap for Mankind.” How amazing it must have been to sit in front of a television and see a member of the human race walk on the surface of another planet. And although that did not happen today – I did get a rush of adrenaline as I watched seven human beings travel into space and reach a speed of over 17,000 miles per hour as they began to orbit the Earth. I thought how incredible it was that at one time in our evolution, we could not travel from one state to another if not on horseback – and now – we can travel into space.

To the seven astronauts on board the Discovery, Godspeed, good luck – and please get home safe.