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December 2, 2008 9:32:46 AM CST

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Shuttle Atlantis Lifts Off

Posted Feb 7, 08 2:11 PM CST in Science & Health,  Technology,  US 

(Newser) – After bad weather prompted worries of a further delay, US space shuttle Atlantis successfully blasted into space today, the AP reports. NASA had feared the same cold front that ravaged the South with tornadoes would push the launch to tomorrow, or later. Aboard, with seven astronauts, is the European Space Agency’s Columbus lab, bound for the international space station.

The $2-billion Columbus lab has seen 23 years of delays, from budget issues to technology hiccups to shuttle disasters. French Air Force Gen. Leopold Eyharts will help get the module up and running, and he'll relieve NASA's Daniel Tani, who is scheduled to return to Earth aboard Atlantis, likely Feb. 19. Tani's mother died during his four months on the space station.

Source Associated Press

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Space shuttle Atlantis STS-122 commander Stephen Frick, front row right, pilot Alan Poindexter, left. Second row, mission specialist Rex Walheim, right, mission specialist Leland Melvin, left. Third...   (Associated Press)
The space shuttle Atlantis flies above a cloud on its way into orbit following liftoff Thursday afternoon Feb. 7, 2008 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)   (Associated Press)
Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Thursday Feb. 7, 2008 in Cape Canaveral, Fla.. Atlantis' seven member crew is on a 11-day mission to deliver Columbus, a laboratory...   (Associated Press)
News photographers record the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis Thursday afternoon Feb. 7, 2008 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)   (Associated Press)
Space shuttle Atlantis crew member, European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts of France waves as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building on the way to board the shuttle at the Kennedy Space...   (Associated Press)
Space shuttle Atlantis commander Stephen Frick waves as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building on his way to board the shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Feb....   (Associated Press)
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NASA • International Space Station • astronauts • European Space Agency • Atlantis Space Shuttle • Daniel Tani • Columbus Space Laboratory


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