Times of transition often carry additional risk. Spacecraft launch, mission phase transition, system startup — these can be tense moments for NASA projects. This month's mishap illustrates the importance of considering every sequence of mission activities during the design and review process. Just moments after NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) powered-on to begin its infrared survey of the sky, a transient signal from one of its components compromised the mission. The mishap investigation concluded that the team could have anticipated the signal if the review had thoroughly considered the start-up characteristics of WIRE's components. Instead, the design did not account for components' variable start-up times or their dependence on the time components were powered-off. The problem was compounded by a low-fidelity test set-up that led the team to dismiss anomalies during start-up. Testing and design focused on the mission objective but neglected WIRE's crucial transition from "power-off" to fully operational. At NASA, we need to focus closely on these moments of transition.