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The space shuttle Discovery lifts off
from launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Aug.29, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. space shuttle
Discovery lifted off midnight Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
after two delays, on a track to the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA
TV showed the shuttle blasted off at 11:59 p.m. EDT (0359 GMT, Saturday). Its
twin solid rocket boosters separated just over two minutes into the flight.
The reusable boosters falls back toward the Atlantic
Ocean, where they will land under parachutes and be retrieved by recovery ships.
They are equipped with cameras to record the performance of Discovery's external
tank and any foam loss seen during Discovery's ascent, with the glow from their
engines illuminating the shuttle during the night launch.
The rocket engines boosting Discovery and its
external tank towards orbit have also shut down as planned about eight and a
half minutes into flight.
Discovery was originally scheduled to lift off early
Tuesday. However, Tuesday's launch attempt was called off by thunderstorms and a
Wednesday try was postponed by a fuel valve trouble.
The valve is inside Discovery's aft compartment. It
is used for the flow of liquid hydrogen from the external fuel tank to the main
engines.
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The space shuttle Discovery lifts off
from launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Aug.29, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
NASA resolved the fuel valve problem Friday and the
weather also cooperated the planned launch.
"It looks like third time really is the charm,"
launch director Pete Nickolenko told shuttle commander Rick Sturckow shortly
before the liftoff. "We wish you and your team good luck and Godspeed."
The shuttle will reach the ISS Sunday night.
Discovery's flight will deliver supplies and
equipment to the ISS. Inside the shuttle's cargo bay is the Leonardo
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), a pressurized "moving van" that will be
temporarily installed to the station. The module will deliver science and
storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment
and the COLBERT treadmill.
The 1,600-pound (726 kg) freezer, developed by the
European Space Agency, will be installed in Japan's Kibo laboratory.
The sleeping compartment is the third U.S.-built
sleeping berth for the station crew, bringing the total number of bedrooms in
the station to five. A sixth and final crew cabin is scheduled to arrive next
year.
NASA selected the treadmill's name after comedian and
host Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" took interest
during the ISS's Node 3 naming poll and urged his followers to post the name
"Colbert," which received the most entries. The treadmill will be the second on
the station.
The treadmill will fly up in more than 100 pieces.
The astronauts on the station are expected to spend about 20 hours putting the
COLBERT together. COLBERT will reside first inside the Harmony module. Later, it
will move into Tranquility.
Discovery's 13-day mission will also include three
space walks to replace experiments outside the European Space Agency's Columbus
laboratory, and install a new ammonia storage tank and return the used one.
Ammonia is used to move excess heat from inside the station to the radiators located outside. Discovery also will deliver a new crewmember and bring back another after almost two months aboard the space station.
STS-128 is the 128th U.S. space shuttle flight, the 30th to the station, the 37th for Discovery and the fourth in 2009. Six flights to the station remain after STS-128 before the shuttles retire in 2010.
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Graphics shows the US shuttle Discovery lifts off on the way to the International Space Station. the shuttle blasted off at 11:59 p.m. EDT Friday (03:59 GMT, Saturday). Its twin solid rocket boosters separated just over two minutes into the flight. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)
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