Space shuttle blasts off, finally flying on try 3

Space shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts blazed into orbit on a spectacular flight to the international space station, hauling up a treadmill named after a TV funnyman and thousands of kilos of more solemn supplies.

Discovery late last night lit up the sky for miles around as it thundered away on NASA's third launch attempt. Lightning flashed far in the distance, and the ascending shuttle resembled a bright star until it blinked out of sight five minutes after liftoff.

The space station was soaring more than 220 miles above the Indian Ocean, southwest of Tasmania, when Discovery took off. The shuttle will reach the orbiting outpost tomorrow night.

 

"It looks like third time really is the charm," launch director Pete Nickolenko told commander Rick Sturckow. "We wish you and your team good luck and Godspeed."

Tuesday's launch attempt was called off by thunderstorms and Wednesday's by fuel valve trouble. Everything came together in NASA's favour last night; even the valve and its indicator switch behaved, allowing the shuttle to blast off seconds before midnight.

Discovery's most prominent payload is NASA's new USD 5 million treadmill, which is named after Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert.