Photo credit: Gillian Nanton/West Orlando News Online
Space shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven astronauts are rocketing into orbit, beginning a two-day pursuit of the International Space Station.
Endeavour’s two solid rocket boosters ignited right on schedule at 6:03 p.m. EDT, sending the shuttle soaring past the launch tower at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The boosters burnt out about two minutes into the climb, leaving Endeavour’s trio of main engines to complete the ascent to orbit.
As expected, the the main engine cutoff came about eight-and-a-half minutes into flight.
