Shuttle Discovery Rockets Toward Space Station (Ker Than)

Created by : Francis Goodwin View profile

By Ker Than -- Space.com

Dec. 9, 2006 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – For a few brief moments, night turned to day here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as the shuttle Discovery climbed into space atop twin columns of fire and smoke in the agency's first evening launch in four years.

Discovery lifted off at 8:47:35 p.m. EST (0147:35 Dec. 10 GMT) from KSC's Pad 39B, arcing skyward like a brilliant flare. The white, pulsating glow of the shuttle's boosters were expected to be visible along the entire Eastern Seaboard as the craft made its way towards the International Space Station (ISS).

“We look forward to lighting up the night sky and rewiring the ISS,” Discovery’s STS-116 commander Mark Polansky told launch controllers. “You’re all going to be with us going into orbit.”

Discovery's flight comes two days after low clouds forced NASA launch controllers to scrub a planned Thursday liftoff just minutes before launch. Saturday's forecast was initially gloomy as well, at only 30 percent for Go, but the outlook reversed dramatically late in the day to 70 percent. Shuttle engineers and pad workers were also able to get launch preparations back on track after a series of delays.