Shuttle Endeavour Launches to Relieve Space Station Crew

Space shuttle Endeavour streaked into orbit Saturday night after weeks of delay, carrying a new set of residents and another massive building block for the international space station.

NASA had feared storms in Spain might postpone the flight for the second day. But in the end, the rain held off at one of the two overseas emergency landing strips and managers cleared Endeavour and its crew of seven for takeoff.

“Looks like we’ve got a good vehicle and good weather tonight for you,” launch director Mike Leinbach said. “Have a great flight. I hope you have a good turkey dinner packed for Thanksgiving.”

Endeavour roared to life and lighted up the clear night sky for miles around. The ship was visible for seven minutes, resembling a bright star as it arced over the Atlantic Ocean.

The space station’s three residents, on board since June, were soaring over Austria when Endeavour blasted off at 7:49 p.m. EST.

The delays were starting to pile up for NASA’s latest trip to the space station, in need of a fresh crew, a new girder and spare parts for a balky air cleaning system.

Endeavour should have flown in October, but was grounded because of cracked fuel lines found throughout the shuttle fleet. Then during a Nov. 11 launch attempt, oxygen leaked from a cracked hose in the astronauts’ supply line. While trying to fix that, workers damaged the shuttle’s robot arm; fortunately, no repairs were needed.

Then the weather interfered.

Both Spanish air bases were hit Friday night by the same storm system that sank an oil tanker last week. Only one had to be available for use by Endeavour in the rare event of engine failure or some other emergency during liftoff.

Kennedy Space Center’s director, Roy Bridges, congratulated the launch team for getting the job done safely.

The only problem during liftoff was a valve stuck open in Endeavour’s right orbital-maneuvering engine.

Endeavour is loaded with a $390-million space station girder almost identical to one launched last month. Two crew members -- including the first American Indian to go into space, John Herrington -- will hook it up during three spacewalks this week.

Endeavour is the ride home for U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian cosmonauts Valery Korzun and Sergei Treschev. They marked their 171st day in orbit Saturday. By the time the shuttle returns to Earth on Dec. 4, they will have spent 182 days aloft.

They will be replaced by Americans Kenneth Bowersox and Donald Pettit and Russian Nikolai Budarin, who will stay at the outpost at least four months.

Whitson, 42, has mixed feelings about leaving. The biochemist spent her adult life aiming to become an astronaut. Her goal was a long spaceflight.

Even though she has enjoyed working on the space station, Whitson has expressed a growing weariness of the canned food and just-add-water meals. She stockpiled rehydrated shrimp cocktails before she left Earth.