The shuttle Endeavour climbs away from launch complex 39A.
(Credit: NASA TV)CNET - KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--Running two weeks late because of an electrical glitch, the repaired shuttle Endeavour finally blasted off and rocketed into orbit for the last time Monday, putting on a spectacular, if brief, show for the several hundred thousand spectators who were estimated to have come to watch NASA's next-to-last shuttle launch.
Carrying a $2 billion particle physics experiment, critical supplies, and spare parts bound for the International Space Station, Endeavour's three main engines flashed to life and throttled up to full power while computers monitored their performance 50 times per second.
Six-and-a-half seconds later, at 8:56:28 a.m. EDT (GMT-4), Endeavour's twin solid-fuel boosters ignited with a rush of 5,000-degree exhaust, instantly pushing the spacecraft away from pad 39A.
Accelerating through 100 mph--straight up--in just eight seconds, Endeavour climbed away and quickly disappeared from view as it knifed through low-level clouds, wheeling about to line up on a northeasterly trajectory paralleling the East Coast. Read More
