After three months of delays, the space shuttle Atlantis roared into the clear Florida skies this evening, beginning a mission to deliver new solar panels to the International Space Station. The shuttle lifted off from Pad 39-A at Cape Canaveral at 7:38pm EDT, and reached orbit a few minutes later.
The three month delay came from a freak hailstorm that chewed up the foam casing that insulates the orbiter's external fuel tank. The damage was so bad that workers brought Atlantis back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, and made the painstaking repairs required to make it spaceworthy again.
But today, the weather was cooperating perfectly. Things started out a little cloudy, but it cleared up by launch time. And for the first time since the shuttles' return to service, there was a launch without weather delay or technical glitch.
Now in orbit, Atlantis will match trajectories with the International Space Station, linking up in a couple of days. The 7 astronauts on board the shuttle will join up with the 3 station residents, and begin installing the station's new solar panel array.
They'll also make a crew change, delivering Clayton Anderson to the station's crew, and bringing Sunita Williams back to Earth after six months in orbit.
If all goes well, Atlantis will touch back down at Florida's Kennedy Space Center in 11 days.
