Image: Space shuttle Discovery blazes into the night sky as it lifts off Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA TV

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Discovery launches

Space shuttle Discovery launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida last night.

Commander Lee Archambault leads Discovery's crew of seven, along with Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, KE5DAR, John Phillips, KE5DRY, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, KE5DAU, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA, on mission STS-119 to the International Space Station.

The STS-119 crew members are flying the S6 truss segment and installing the final set of power-generating solar arrays to the International Space Station. The S6 truss will complete the backbone of the station and provide one-fourth of the total power needed to support a crew of six.

NASA mission managers congratulated the team that successfully launched space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station on March 15 at 7:43 p.m. EDT.

NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier expressed his thanks to the teams from the NASA centers that resolved the technical issues which delayed the launch. "It was a true team effort at NASA," Gerstenmaier said. "There was a lot of critical work that needed to be done and they just did a phenomenal job."

Yukihide Hayashi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency vice president, was delighted with the launch of Discovery carrying Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata to the orbiting laboratory where he'll take his place as Expedition 18 and 19 flight engineer.

Mission Management Chairman Mike Moses remarked how smooth the launch countdown went and gave special thanks to the reusable solid rocket motor team celebrating their 100th launch since the Challenger redesign. "They’ve built a system that's working fantastic and has been working almost perfect since that day and congratulations to that team," Moses said.

NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach talked about how smoothly the countdown went, including the minor issues that were quickly taken care of. "This was the most visually beautiful launch I've ever seen -- it was just spectacular," Leinbach said. Hundreds of people worked on the flow control valve issue, and for their hard work and long hours they received the coveted Flow Award after launch. "I'm very proud to be a part of this team," Leinbach said