'Safe launch' for space shuttle

Watch the launch http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm

Nasa officials scrutinising footage of space shuttle Atlantis' launch say some debris did hit the orbiter, but that there was no visible damage. "Not only am I not alarmed, I'm really at ease after looking through this video," Nasa's Wayne Hale said. "We are looking at nits - nothing of any remote consequence," he said.

Saturday's launch was just the third shuttle mission since the orbiter Columbia broke up on re-entry after being damaged by launch debris in 2003. As part of new procedures following the Columbia tragedy, in which all seven astronauts on board died, Nasa now restricts launches to daylight to allow for careful study of the external fuel tank. Mr Hale said that his assessment of the launch was a preliminary report and that Nasa would be reviewing High Definition film from the shuttle on Sunday.

Tight schedule

The shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida through a partly cloudy sky at 1115 local time (1515 GMT).

The launch, Nasa's last opportunity to launch until at least late September, came after two weeks of frustrating delays for Nasa managers. "What you saw today is a flawless count, a majestic launch. This vehicle has not flown since 2001 and not everything in the count leading up to this day was easy. We had to dodge tropical storms, lightning strikes and things like that," Nasa administrator Michael Griffin said.

The six astronauts on board for the 11-day mission are headed to the $100bn International Space Station to resume construction work after a gap of four years.

The crew will deliver and fit the P3/P4 truss, a 17-tonne segment of the space station's "backbone" that includes a huge set of solar arrays and a giant rotary joint to allow them to track the Sun. The arrays will be the second of four sets, and will span 73m (240ft) when fully extended. Once fitted, they will effectively double the station's current ability to generate power from sunlight.

Nasa managers were under pressure to launch as there is a tight schedule of some 15 further shuttle missions to complete construction work on the ISS by 2010, when the current shuttle fleet is due to be retired.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5331670.stm