STS-124 Heading To ISS

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 05.31.08 1505 EDT: She's off! Moments ago, NASA's most erstwhile orbiter, the space shuttle Discovery, lifted off from Cape Canaveral on its latest mission to the International Space Station.

So far, all indications from NASA are the launch progressed smoothly. Video from a camera mounted on the shuttle's external tank appeared to show a small chunk of foam or ice break off from the tank at approximately T-plus 3:30, striking the underside of the orbiter at a comparatively low velocity. At the moment, it's not expected to have caused significant damage.

Discovery and its seven-member crew will dock with the ISS on Monday. The STS-124 mission will deliver the second of three sections of the Kibo science laboratory.

Original Report

With all the (well-deserved) to-do this week at NASA over its successful Mars Phoenix mission, it's easy to forget NASA has another high-flying mission set to lift off Saturday afternoon.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians put the finishing touches Friday on space shuttle Discovery, one day before its scheduled liftoff on mission STS-124. Launch is set for Saturday 1702 EDT.

"After months of hard work and preparation, Discovery and its crew are ready to fly," said NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding during a Friday morning briefing on Discovery's countdown status. "All of our systems are in great shape, we're tracking no issues, and we're right on schedule for tomorrow's launch."

The weather is looking promising for launch day, according to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. Isolated coastal showers may be in the area during the morning hours, but a sea breeze will develop in the afternoon, clearing the coast and causing any showers to move inland. There is an 80 percent chance of favorable weather at launch time.

This mission will carry the largest payload so far to the station and includes three spacewalks. It is the second of three missions that will launch components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.

The crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and Kibo's robotic arm system. Discovery also will deliver new station crew member Greg Chamitoff and bring back Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who will end a three-month stay aboard the outpost.

FMI: www.nasa.gov