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Good luck and Godspeed

The US Space Shuttle Discovery made a perfect launch this afternoon at 2:38PM Florida time. Here's to an uneventful journey and a safe return home to the ship and her seven crew members. Space.com has the story:

Shuttle Discovery Reaches Orbit
NASA celebrated the Fourth of July with some rockets of its own Tuesday as the space shuttle Discovery launched its seven-astronaut crew into orbit.

After two scrubbed attempts, Discovery shot spaceward at 2:37:55 p.m. EDT (1837:55 GMT) from Pad 39B here at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The launch marked NASA’s first-ever shuttle flight to leave Earth on Independence Day.

“Discovery's ready, the weather's beautiful, America is ready to return the space shuttle to flight.,'' NASA launch director Michael Leinbach told Discovery’s astronaut crew just before liftoff. “So good luck and Godspeed, Discovery.”

“I can't think of a better place to be here on the Fourth of July,” said Steven Lindsey, commander of Discovery’s STS-121 mission. “We’re hoping to very soon get you an up close and personal look at the rocket’s red glare.”

Posted by DaveH at July 4, 2006 1:03 PM