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US space shuttle Discovery lifts off

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-16 08:36

WASHINGTON -- The US space shuttle Discovery lifted off on Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a mission of delivering the International Space Station (ISS)'s fourth and final set of solar array wings, to complete the station's truss, or backbone.

The space shuttle Discovery sits on launch pad 39A as it is fueled for launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in this May 31, 2008 file photo. [Agencies]

The NASA TV shows that Discovery set off at 19:43 pm EST (2343 GMT), thundering into a clear sky. Thousands of people came to Kennedy Space Center to see the liftoff.

The five engines boosting Discovery and its external tank towards orbit have shut down as planned about eight and a half minutes into flight.

Related readings:  Repaired space shuttle ready for launch try  Discovery liftoff delayed for 5th time  NASA hopeful repairs will permit Discovery's Sunday launch  Space shuttle poised for Wednesday night launch

The shuttle is expected to dock with the ISS on March 17.

Discovery entered a launch countdown last Wednesday, before ground crews at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral noticed a hydrogen leak in a liquid hydrogen vent line between the shuttle and the external tank. The leak forced NASA to immediately begin unloading fuel from the tank and cancel the Wednesday launch.

The shuttle was initially scheduled for launch on February 12, but concerns over suspect fuel control valves in the spacecraft's main engines prompted several delays so engineers could replace them.

Because of the delays, the mission has been shortened by a day and one of four spacewalks has been dropped.