Shuttle Discovery Launches With Japanese Laboratory

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Space shuttle Discovery thunders off the launch pad at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA TV
Space shuttle Discovery thunders off the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA TV

Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:02 p.m. EDT Saturday to deliver and install a Japanese laboratory on the International Space Station. The mission, designated STS-124, is the second of three flights to launch components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Discovery is carrying Kibo's tour bus-sized Japanese Pressurized Module, or JPM, which will be the station's largest module. The shuttle astronauts will work with the three-member station crew and ground teams around the world to install the JPM and Kibo's robotic arm system.


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