Space shuttle Endeavour blasts off

The space shuttle Endeavour has thundered away from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

It is carrying seven astronauts on a mission to install a billion-dollar robot arm on the international space station.

The astronauts come from four countries, making this the most internationally diverse space crew ever.

"Good luck and have fun on the international space station," launch director Mike Leinbach told the astronauts just before liftoff.

"Ciao, Italia!" Italian astronaut Umberto Guidoni shouted to wellwishers on his way to the shuttle. Canada, Russia and the United States were also represented among the crew.

About 20,000 guests from around the world jammed into Kennedy Space Centre for the launch.

The shuttle will reach the space station on Saturday.