SPACE!
Atlantis successfully launched into orbit at 11:15 am EDT.
After two frustrating weeks of delays, space shuttle Atlantis and its six astronauts blasted off Saturday on a mission to resume construction of the international space station for the first time since the Columbia disaster 3 1/2 years ago.
The shuttle rose from its seaside launch pad through a partly cloudy sky at 11:15 a.m.
"By our count, it has been almost four years, two return to flight missions, a tremendous amount of work by thousands of individuals," said Brent Jett, Atlantis' commander. "We're confident that in the next few weeks, and the next few years for that matter, NASA is going to prove to our nation and our friends … that it was worth the wait and we're ready to get to work."
On the ground, NASA kept an eye on several cameras zoomed in on Atlantis as the shuttle streaked into space for any signs of hard foam breaking off its large external fuel tank, the problem that doomed Columbia.
A preliminary review of the launch showed no indication of major foam loss before Atlantis separated from its external fuel tank and NASA declared its crew safely in space. The fuel cells that had forced launch delays earlier this week were working as expected, NASA spokesman Kyle Herring said.
Great news.
By Quilly Mammoth, Saturday, 9 September , 2006 @ 1:18 pm
Let’s rememebr that the entire reason that we are in this situation is because Envornmental Whackos and Watermelons forced a change in the foam that surrounds the EFT.