Summary

Description	After two-and-a-half years, Space Shuttle Discovery roared into Earth orbit on NASA's long-awaited Return to Flight mission July 26, 2005. The twin Solid Rocket Boosters roared to life at 10:39 a.m. Eastern time, launching a seven-member astronaut crew aboard Discovery on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. The liftoff capped nearly two weeks of round-the-clock troubleshooting to find and fix a problem with an engine fuel cut-off sensor that caused the first launch attempt, on July 13, to be cancelled. But the sensors performed perfectly and the weather improved, allowing the world to watch the orange-suited astronauts make their way to the launch pad. With the crew-module hatch closed and final preparations complete, Launch Director Mike Leinbach gave Discovery's crew, led by Commander Eileen Collins, the 'go' for launch. 'Ok Eileen, our long wait may be over. On behalf of the many millions of people who believe so deeply in what we do, Good luck, Godspeed and have a
Date	2005-07-26
Source	images.nasa.gov

Licensing

Public Domain (US Government Work)