Space shuttle Discovery has launched on a mission to deliver new science equipment and other supplies to the International Space Station.
Discovery lifted off one minute before midnight Friday from the Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s Atlantic coast, carrying nearly 8,000 kilograms of equipment for the International Space Station.
Moments before launch, shuttle launch director Pete Nickolenko radioed Discovery commander Rick Sturckow to say that the shuttle was cleared to go, saying, “We wish you and your team good luck and god speed.”
Sturckow responded, “Thanks, Pete. On behalf of the Discover, thanks to everyone who helped prepare for this mission. Let’s go step up the science on the International Space Station.”
Two earlier attempts to launch Discovery were scrubbed this week, because of lightning storms and a technical problem with the shuttle’s fuel valve.
The Discovery crew will spend 13 days in orbit, and astronauts will conduct three space walks after the orbiter’s rendezvous with the space station on Sunday. The team will deliver a sleeping quarter and a new treadmill named after American comedian Stephen Colbert. The shuttle’s payload also includes new science equipment, including a freezer and experiment racks.
