NASA: Fabulous space shuttle Endeavour launch for complicated mission

NASA space shuttle Endeavour blasted off today without hitch. Solar satellite mission up next

After being delayed about 24 hours, NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour rocketed into space this morning to rendezvous with the International Space Station in three days.

"This is a great start to a very complicated mission," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations. According to NASA, at the time Endeavour lifted off, the ISS was traveling at almost five miles a second about 212 miles over western Romania. Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the station at 12:09 a.m. Wednesday over the northern coast of Spain.

Social site Twitter will play a big part in the mission. Astronaut Mike Massimino will be accepting questions for the crew from the public via his Twitter account until Thursday, Feb. 11. Send your tweets to Endeavour's crew to Massimino's Twitter account, @astro_Mike, or add the hashtag #askastro to tweets.

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After being delayed about 24 hours, NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour rocketed into space this morning to rendezvous with the International Space Station in three days.

"This is a great start to a very complicated mission," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations. According to NASA, at the time Endeavour lifted off, the ISS was traveling at almost five miles a second about 212 miles over western Romania. Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the station at 12:09 a.m. Wednesday over the northern coast of Spain.

Social site Twitter will play a big part in the mission. Astronaut Mike Massimino will be accepting questions for the crew from the public via his Twitter account until Thursday, Feb. 11. Send your tweets to Endeavour's crew to Massimino's Twitter account, @astro_Mike, or add the hashtag #askastro to tweets.

NASA may transform but major problems remain

On its 13-day mission, Endeavour’s astronauts will have 3 spacewalks. The shuttle is carrying the 21 ft long, 14 ft wide, 27,000 pound life support module known as Tranquility. The room with a view module known as the Cupola module is also part of the ISS package heading into orbit.

According to NASA, the pressurized Tranquility module, which was built for NASA by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, under contract to the European Space Agency -- will bump out the room for crew members and many of the space station's life support and environmental control systems including include air revitalization, oxygen generation and water recycling. A waste and hygiene compartment and a treadmill also will be relocated from other areas of the station, NASA stated.

Tranquility will be linked to the Earth-facing side of the ISS’ Unity node. The new node will provide an additional docking point for space shuttles and other crew vehicles visiting the station in the future.

NASA says the Cupola node could be considered the ultimate observation deck as the small, dome-shaped module has seven windows -- six around the sides and one on top -- that can be shuttered when not in use to protect them from micrometeoroids and the harsh space environment.

Just under ten feet in diameter, the module will accommodate two crew members and portable workstations that can control station and robotic activities. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects, NASA stated.

Endeavour's flight will begin the final year of space shuttle operations. Five shuttle missions are planned in 2010, with the final flight currently targeted for launch in September. In its 2011 budget, the NASA is proposing over $600 million to ensure that the space shuttle can fly in case the space shuttle’s schedule slips into fiscal year 2011.

Meanwhile, NASA is readying for the launch of its Solar Dynamics Observatory tomorrow. NASA says the satellite will scrutinize the Sun and ultimately send back a prodigious rush of pictures about sunspots, solar flares and a variety of other never-before-seen astrophysical activities.