Shuttle blasts off on night flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Endeavour and six astronauts rocketed into orbit today on what is likely the last nighttime launch for the shuttle program, hauling a new room and observation deck for the International Space Station.
The space shuttle took flight before dawn, igniting the sky with a brilliant flash seen for miles around. The weather finally cooperated: Thick, low clouds that had delayed a first launch attempt Sunday returned, but then cleared away just in time.
"Looks like the weather came together tonight," launch director Mike Leinbach told the astronauts right before liftoff. "It's time to go fly."
"We'll see you in a couple weeks," replied commander George Zamka. He repeated: "It's time to go fly."
There are just four more missions scheduled this year before the shuttles are retired.
"For the last night launch, it treated us well," Leinbach said.
Endeavour's destination — the space station, home to five men — was soaring over Romania at the time of liftoff. The shuttle is set to arrive at the station early Wednesday.
Zamka and his crew will deliver and install Tranquility, a new room that will eventually house life-support equipment, exercise machines and a toilet, as well as a seven-windowed dome. The lookout has the biggest window ever sent into space, a circle 31 inches across.
It will be the last major construction job at the space station. No more big pieces like that are left to fly.
Both the new room and dome — together exceeding $400 million — were supplied by the European Space Agency.
NASA began fueling Endeavour on Sunday night just as the Super Bowl was kicking off to the south in Miami. The shuttle crew did not watch the game — neither did the launch team — but it was beamed up to the space station in case anyone there wanted to watch it.
Endeavour's launch also was broadcast to the space station residents, who got to watch it live.
Launch manager Mike Moses said he got "evil glares" in the control center for making his team report to work on Super Bowl night. He noted the shuttle's fuel tank was made in New Orleans. "They were at least happy with the results of the game," he said with a smile.
The coin used in the opening toss flew to the space station in November, aboard Atlantis.
This morning's countdown ended up being uneventful, except for a last-minute run to the launch pad. Astronaut Stephen Robinson forgot the binder holding all his flight data files, and the emergency red team had to rush it out to him, just before he climbed aboard. The launch team couldn't resist some gentle teasing.
A quick look at the launch video showed a couple pieces of foam insulation breaking off Endeavour's external fuel tank, but none appeared to strike the shuttle, officials said.
