CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (August 30, 2009) --
With seven astronauts and a host of experiments and
equipment on board, space shuttle Discovery completed a
flawless ascent into orbit Friday night to begin a two-day
chase of the International Space Station. With Commander
Rick "C.J. " Sturckow at the controls, the shuttle lifted
off on-time at 11:59 p.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida. The crew will rendezvous and dock with
the station Sunday and the crew will begin transferring
equipment to the outpost during the 13-day mission.
After flying up on Discovery, Nicole Stott
will trade places with station resident Tim Kopra, who went
into space last month aboard Endeavour. Equipment and
science racks for the orbiting laboratory are riding inside
the Leonardo cargo module, which is secured tightly inside
Discovery's payload bay. The module will be lifted out of
Discovery and locked onto the station so the crew can
transfer the gear efficiently. The treadmill named for
comedian Stephen Colbert also is aboard Discovery and
destined for the station.
