A 00:43 UTC – Space shuttle Discovery and its seven member crew blasted into the night sky, four days after its intended launch time, which was scrubbed due to a faulty vent line, leaking potentially dangerous hydrogen gas.
Two minutes after liftoff the spent boosters fell away for a parachute descent to the Atlantic Ocean 29 miles below and Discovery continued its ascent under the power of its three-hydrogen-fueled main engines. Discovery, making its 36th flight, is carrying a fourth and final set of solar wing panels to the ISS in what will be one of the last major steps in the decade-long construction. Discovery will also deliver Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese resident on the ISS, who will replace US astronaut Sandra Magnus.