Incredibly, it happened to be just 2 hours before the last ever launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-132).
Pretty-much riveted, I watched the whole of the launch process, from when the astronauts last wave goodbye on the tarmac to when they are flying around the earth at more than 15,000 miles per hour.
In the press conference afterwards, lots of people asked questions about whether this would really be the last mission for Atlantis. "Well, yes", they responded, "but if someone were to ask us to fly again, we could be ready."
I was comforted to realise that its not only me that has trouble saying goodbye.
