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NASCAR is fun. Fighter jets are cool. But when it comes to engines, power, and feel-it-in-your-bones rocket propulsion, nothing compares to the spectacle of a space shuttle lift-off. This YouTube collection of NASA and amateur clips takes you to the launch pad and beyond. Witness Discovery's rare nighttime ascent to orbit. See the earth fall away as Atlantis spirals upward. Watch Endeavor, "flying straight as an arrow," move out from beneath its solid-rocket boosters. Ain't space technology grand? The brief video segments veer between far-off shots highlighting the full rush and flick of the booster engines' flames and shuttle eye-views from cameras mounted on external tanks. We also love the authoritative NASA voice-overs. There's something so enthralling about hearing them intone, "T-minus two minutes and counting." And every once in awhile, you catch an orator saying something like, "everything looking good on the bird." Does it ever!

1. Select the rocket you'd like to assemble: Delta II or Atlas V.

    

2. Scroll through the list of components. Click each one to get the lowdown on its role.

    

3. If you suddenly find yourself overwhelmed by second stage and oxidizer fuel tanks, extended air-lit nozzles, or centaur forward adapters, don't panic. It's just missile anatomy, after all. Act knowing.

    

4. Drag each piece to the rocket sprawled across the bottom of the display.

    

5. Other thoughts may crop up, like: "Wow, the fuel tanks are really big." Just roll with them.

    

6. At last, you finish—and have the satisfaction of watching your rocket blast into space. At which point, it immediately jettisons most of your hard work. What a thankless beast.