Atlantis successfully launched

[Neil D]

NASA successfully launched its first shuttle of the year

Commanded by astronaut Rick Sturckow, the shuttle Atlantis has successfully lifted off from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first shuttle launch of the year took place at 7:38 p.m. EDT. Cheers of joy filled the Kennedy Space Center after the ship lifted off into space on time.

The shuttle entered orbit around 10 minutes after launch, and will conduct a rendezvous pitch and thermal shield protection test soon. The shuttle will be ready to dock with the International Space Station in about three days time.

There were no technical difficulties before launch.

The seven astronauts will deliver and work on a pair of large truss segments and new solar wings, which will be installed during the planned 11-day mission at the ISS. NASA still hopes to be able to finish construction on the ISS before the current generation of shuttle technology is retired in 2010. The payload onboard the shuttle is the heaviest payload to ever head to the ISS -- one part measuring 45-feet long, 35,678 pounds.

Astronaut Sunita Williams, the first woman to be in space for six months, will return back to Earth on June 19, as her job of engineering and support on the ISS has come to an end.

The shuttle launch was delayed after a hail storm in February which left large dents in the shuttle's fuel tank. NASA originally anticipated two U.S. shuttle launches this late in the year.