Discovery Launches Successfully

Third time a charm, the shuttle Discovery roared off the launch pad today in a successful launch.

"And liftoff of the space shuttle Discovery — returning to the space station, paving the way for future missions and beyond," said NASA launch commentator Bruce Buckingham. " … As it turns out, patience was a virtue — the third time's the charm," Buckingham said.

There were hugs and handshakes in NASA's Mission Control as Discovery made its way into orbit.

Plans call for a 12-day mission to deliver supplies to the international space station and drop off European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, of Germany, who will join the Expedition 13 crew members already there.

NASA mission specialists Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson are on their first flights into space.

Astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum will conduct two spacewalks to test a new shuttle robotic arm and to repair a piece of equipment outside the space station.

They might also do a third spacewalk to test repair techniques on the shuttle's thermal protection system — that would add a day to the mission.

NASA decided to go ahead with the launch after finding a pencil-sized crack in the foam insulation around the shuttle's fuel tank on Monday.

"It all looks fine, and the structure is in good shape," Associate Administrator William Gerstenmaier told reporters Monday evening.

The astronauts were all smiles as they suited up Tuesday morning.

Shuttle commander Steve Lindsey appeared relaxed, shaking a crew assistant's hand before entering the cockpit where he was strapped into his seat for the ride into space.

Nowak was the last to take her seat, and the hatch was sealed at 12:29 p.m. ET.

Discovery rocked toward space at 2:38 p.m. ET.

Congratulations, America! Happy 4th of July!