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Columbia embarks on science mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- Space shuttle Columbia rocketed from its Florida launchpad amid a sunny haze Tuesday, setting out on a science mission it had to abort three months ago.
Columbia lifted off at 2:02 p.m. EDT, shortly after its scheduled launch time of 1:50 p.m., despite a forecast of severe weather that threatened to delay the launch even further. Shuttle managers on Monday originally moved up the liftoff time nearly one hour in hopes of beating the expected storms.
"Columbia, it looks like we've got the weather lined up with us, so we're going to get you guys out of here," Mission Control said, minutes before blastoff. "Have a good flight."
As the shuttle pierced the sky, it marked the first time a NASA crew had flown together in space more than once. It also was the quickest return to orbit for any American.
The laboratory mission is a replica of one that flew in April. That planned 16-day mission ended after only four days because of alarming voltage swings in an electrical generator.
Engineers still do not know why the fuel cell malfunctioned, although it's now apparent that the shuttle could have remained safely in orbit, shuttle program manager Tommy Holloway said.
Space shuttle launch
1 MB/27 sec. QuickTime movie
The faulty fuel cell was replaced after Columbia and its crew of seven returned to Earth on April 8, and new monitoring guidelines were implemented to prevent similar problems in the future.
The same seven crew members and the same 33 experiments are on board, including fire, plant, crystal and metal studies that resemble the kind of research to be conducted on the future international space station.
Holloway said that despite problems on Russia's crippled space station Mir, NASA was not diverting attention or resources away from Columbia's countdown.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- CNN In-Depth: Space
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