This article is intended to model the ascent of the space shuttle for high school teachers and students. It provides a background for a sufficiently comprehensive description of the physics (kinematics and dynamics) of the March 16, 2009, "Discovery" launch. Our data are based on a comprehensive spreadsheet kindly sent to us by Bill Harwood, the "CBS News" space consultant. The spreadsheet provides detailed and authentic information about the prediction of the ascent of flight STS-119, the 36th flight of "Discovery" and the 125th shuttle flight to date. We have used the data for our calculations and the production of the graphs. A limited version of the ascent data is available on the "CBS News" STS-119 trajectory timeline.