Sunrises are beautiful almost any place in the world, but for some reason first light every morning over Central Florida is almost always breathtaking. Then, if you add into the mix a sunrise over Kennedy Space Center — America's Spaceport — any space geek will likely melt with delight. Thanks to Jen Scheer, a shuttle technician at KSC, anyone can see the sunrise at KSC almost every day. Jen takes tons of images at KSC and shares them via Twitter (follow her @flyingjenny) and her Flickr page, but her specialty is taking a daily picture or two of the sunrise. "I've been taking sunrise pics since 2006," Jen told me, "but only sporadically until early January of this year. That's when I began stepping it up a bit, and it became a daily thing."

Even though today's space shuttle launch took place during the early morning hours (Kennedy Space Center local time) the post-launch celebration meal for the launch control team consisted of hearty helpings of beans and cornbread. But that's nothing new. Every single successful space shuttle launch since the very beginning of the shuttle program has been followed by beans and cornbread. It's a tradition.

Supporters at a rally want to continue the Constellation program and extend the shuttle program. Image credit: Alan Walters, awaltersphoto.com. Used by permission.

NASA's Space Shuttle, which will make its last flight sometime later this year, has been a boon to the local economy surrounding the Kennedy Space Center, which is located in Cocoa, Florida. The closest county, Brevard, is where many of the workers that help maintain and launch the shuttle reside, and because of the presence of the space center, many a bar, restaurant, and local business have thrived.