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Shuttle Discovery blasts off for space station

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-16 09:10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – The US space shuttle Discovery blasted off its seaside launch pad on Sunday with a pair of solar wing panels and the first Japanese resident astronaut for the International Space Station.

The US space shuttle Discovery blasted off its seaside launch pad on Sunday with a pair of solar wing panels and the first Japanese resident astronaut for the International Space Station. Mission STS-119 to the International Space Station is carrying a crew of seven astronauts.[Agencies]

Related readings:  NASA hopeful repairs will permit Discovery's Sunday launch  Discovery liftoff delayed for 5th time  NASA planet hunter blasts into night sky

NASA shook off a month of delays to launch its 125th shuttle mission at 7:43 pm EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"We had a little bit of a wait but that'll just make the payoff that much sweeter," shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach radioed to the Discovery crew shortly before liftoff.

"Thanks for the work. We'll see you in a couple of weeks," shuttle commander Lee Archambault replied.

There was no sign of the hydrogen fuel leak that shut down Discovery's launch attempt last week and no issues with valves in the ship's engines that triggered four previous delays. In the final hour before launch, even Florida's notoriously fickle weather was perfect.

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