Shuttle Lifts Off to Bring Crew to Space Station
The space shuttle Discovery roared into orbit from Cape Canaveral on a mission to deliver a fresh crew to the international space station, leaving early to beat approaching storms.
The shuttle climbed into a clear but hazy sky at 5:10 p.m. EDT Friday, carrying seven astronauts and cosmonauts, three of whom will spend the next four months in space. NASA launched the spaceship five minutes earlier than planned because of thunderstorms moving in from the south.
The shuttle is the ride home for three station residents, who have been in orbit for five months.
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