The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from its seaside Florida launch pad on Thursday to deliver a $1.9-billion European science laboratory to the International Space Station.
Defying a dismal weather forecast, the shuttle lifted off at 1445 EST (1945 GMT) and headed toward a Saturday rendezvous with the station. Tucked into Atlantis鈥檚 cargo bay is the European Space Agency鈥檚 Columbus module, the centrepiece of a $5-billion programme to give Europe a permanent toehold in space.
鈥淟ift-off of space shuttle Atlantis, as Columbus sets sail on a voyage of science to the space station,鈥� said NASA commentator George Diller as the ship rose into the sky, trailing a tail of bright flame.
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For more than 25 years, European space researchers have relied on the hospitality of others to operate their experiments in orbit. With Columbus, Europe will have a permanent laboratory in space for a variety of biology, physiology, fluid physics and other experiments.
鈥淐olumbus means so much to Europe,鈥� said Alan Thirkettle, ESA鈥檚 space station programme manager. 鈥淲e finally will have our own real estate on orbit.鈥�
Installing Columbus is the primary goal of NASA鈥檚 121st space shuttle mission. Atlantis鈥檚 seven-member crew includes two Europeans, both returning to space after debut flights a decade ago.
Germany鈥檚 Hans Schlegel is a veteran of a 1993 shuttle research mission, and France鈥檚 Leopold Eyharts spent three weeks aboard Russia鈥檚 now-defunct Mir space station in 1998.
Experiment racks
Eyharts will be staying aboard the station after the shuttle departs to begin running science experiments in Columbus. He replaces returning space station flight engineer Dan Tani of the US, who will fly home with Schlegel and the five US astronauts aboard Atlantis.
Columbus is the heart of an ESA investment that is expected to reach about $13 billion by 2015. In addition to the module, Europe developed cargo ships to ferry fuel, supplies, food and water to the outpost. The first of five flights of the so-called Automated Transfer Vehicles is expected in March.
鈥淲e will be a more mature, a senior partner,鈥� Schlegel said in a pre-flight interview.
The research initiatives include biological studies, materials development and fluid physics. Columbus can hold 10 refrigerator-sized experiment racks within its 7-metre-long, 4.5-metre-diameter chamber. The module also has external attachments for four more experiments.
Long awaited
ESA has been waiting for the delivery of Columbus since 2002. It was first postponed by Russian delays launching the space station鈥檚 service module, then by the 2003 destruction of space shuttle Columbia, which grounded the shuttle fleet for 2.5 years.
Columbus has room enough for three crew members to work on experiments and was launched with a biolab for cell and tissue studies and an experiment to study the effects of weightlessness on the human body.
Also flying on Atlantis are five US astronauts: commander Stephen Frick, pilot Alan Poindexter and mission specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love and Leland Melvin.
NASA plans to quickly follow Columbus鈥檚 launch with the first flight for Japan鈥檚 Kibo complex.
The agency has 13 remaining missions on the shuttle鈥檚 roster before the fleet is retired in 2010. In addition to 12 space station construction and resupply flights, NASA plans a mission in August or September to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
As the shuttle Atlantis was readied for launch, a Russian cargo ship slipped into a docking port at the space station with food, fuel, water and other supplies for the crew.
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