Shuttle lifts off at last after five delays

By Marcia Dunn

updated 9:50 p.m. ET July 15, 2009

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After more than a month's delay, the space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts thundered into orbit Wednesday on a flight to the international space station, hauling up a veranda for Japan's enormous lab and looking to set a record for the biggest crowd in space.

Success came on launch try No. 6, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the liftoff of man's first moon landing.

But the mood was dampened somewhat when NASA managers watched the launch video.

Eight or nine pieces of foam insulation came off the external fuel tank during liftoff, and the shuttle was hit at least two or three times, said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's space operations chief. Some scuff marks were spotted on the belly, but that probably is coating loss and considered minor, he said.

In fact, Mission Control told the astronauts Wednesday night that the damage — which occurred not quite two minutes into the flight — looked to be less extensive than what occurred on the last flight.

Engineers immediately began reviewing all the launch pictures, standard procedure ever since flights resumed following the Columbia disaster. Gerstenmaier said zoom-in photos will be taken of the entire shuttle right before it docks with the space station Friday, to ascertain whether it suffered any serious damage. It will take days to go through all the data.

"The bottom line is we saw some stuff," said Mike Moses, chairman of the mission management team. "Some of it doesn't concern us. Some of it you just can't really speculate on right now. But we have the tools in front of us and the processes in front of us to go clear this vehicle for entry" at the end of the month.

Repair kits on board
At a news conference, Gerstenmaier noted that the Endeavour crew has shuttle repair kits on board. In case of irreparable damage, the astronauts could move into the space station for two to three months and await rescue by another shuttle.

Columbia was destroyed during re-entry in 2003 because of a hole in its wing, left there by flyaway foam at liftoff.

Endeavour blasted off a little after 6 p.m. ET from its seaside pad — the same one used to launch Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. The launch was a welcome sight for shuttle workers who had to overcome hydrogen gas leaks last month and, since the weekend, thunderstorms.

The skies finally cleared, allowing commander Mark Polansky and his crew to embark on their 16-day adventure. One more holdup and they would have tied a record for the most shuttle launch delays.

"The weather is finally cooperating, so it is now time to fly," launch director Pete Nickolenko called out to the crew. "Persistence pays off."

Later, from orbit, Polansky radioed, "For all of us, it was a pretty decent wait, but we are thrilled to be here."

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