Blast off: Shuttle returns to space

SPACE shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts blasted off yesterday on America’s first manned space shot since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

The launch ended a painful, two-and-a-half-year shut-down devoted to making the shuttle less risky and NASA more safety-conscious. NASA's chief acknowledged a lot is riding on the flight: the shuttle programme, the space station programme, US President George W Bush's plan to send astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars and seven lives. "Our long wait may be over. So on behalf of the many millions of people who believe so deeply in what we do, good luck, Godspeed and have a little fun up there," launch director Mike Leinbach told the astronauts before lift-off.

Space programme employees and relatives of both the Discovery and Columbia crews watched nervously as the shuttle rose from its pad at 10.39am local time (3.39pm Irish time), climbed into a hazy midsummer sky, pierced two decks of clouds, and headed out over the ocean in the most scrutinised launch in NASA history.