I feel bad for missing this event so wanted to make it up to them
NASA: 60th Anniversary 3D Celebration | Adobe Blog
p.s, love the new look shuttle guys... will have to think up something to use it on 
NASA: 60th Anniversary 3D Celebration inspirational stock assets | Adobe Stock
p.s, here is one I made earlier
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How fun to be in the cockpit, Chuck, you must have known the right people!
I saw the space shuttle when it was in the air from the window of an airplane in the Spring of 1998. I had just finished a business trip in Panama and was on the way home when it was announced that our flight path was directly overhead of the shuttle as it would be taking off. We had to make a detour to circle away from it, and the pilot made sure that all of us got a really good view as the shuttle went up and we crossed not so very far away. It was truly spectacular and is forever seared in my memory.
We then didn’t have enough fuel to land at JFK and had to refuel in Richmond, eventually landing just two minutes before that last flight to DC, which I was unable to get on. The spectacular view of the space shuttle caused a 24-hour delay in retuning home and was totally worth every minute of it.
For those who ever expect to fly into Dulles, it’s worth it to plan a side trip to the Udvar-Hazy Center, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia to see The Discovery and so much more.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center | National Air and Space Museum
Thanks, Graham, for posting this link to NASA’s 60th!
Jane, it was cool, but the job I had to shoot was a PIA! I had to map the payload bay through the cockpit window, so that the astronauts and ground control had similar photos that they could refer to if something went wrong in the deploying of the satellite. There was a platform in the cockpit that was about 3 feet above the payload bay window with just a small gap. I had to bend over the edge and shoot blindly through the window. Shooting film back then, so I was a bit unsure if I got enough coverage. My stomach hurt so much after that shoot. We had a trailer on base with a darkroom, where we had to process and print the images and get them on a plane to ground control in TX before the launch the next day. Sure wish I had digital stuff back then. I was working covertly, and was told I wasn't to be seen with a camera on base, as they hired contract photographers, but they didn't have the clearances needed. So when I went to the launch at the press box, I didn't bring my camera, and everyone else did! I was so pissed. It was a beautiful morning shot, and I was as close as they would allow anyone to be to see the launch.
Another time, they were moving the shuttle to the pad on the creeper. I drove pass and all my co-workers were taking photos in front of it. Again, I didn't have my camera, so I drove back to the office to get it. By the time I got there, everyone had left, but I got out and took a shot, then got stopped by the MPs for being too close to the shuttle. I've been stopped and picked up by the MPs many times! Here's the shot that I did get:
I got another shot of the VAB from a helicopter when I was about to photograph a launch.
The Canadian rock group Rush wrote the song Countdown. Its lyrics are about the first launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia which the band members watched from a VIP area called "Red Sector A". The song incorporates audio from voice communications between astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen and ground control along with commentary from the Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs Officer leading up to the launch. Lot´s of video clips from that launch in their video. Yes, i love Rush! 
The video: Rush - Countdown - YouTube
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