Space shuttle soars towards space station

Atlantis hurtled towards the international space station today after the first launch of a space shuttle since early summer, when cracked fuel lines grounded the fleet.

The shuttle is on a mission to deliver a 14 ton, £250m (€399m) girder that will continue the expansion of the orbiting outpost.

On board is Piers Sellers, originally from Crowborough, East Sussex. He is expected to make three spacewalks to help fit the girder.

The 45ft long, 15ft wide girder, crammed with wiring, plumbing, three radiators and a railroad cart, is part of a framework that eventually will stretch longer than a football field.

Atlantis, which was launched yesterday, was originally scheduled to take-off in August, but was kept on the ground by hairline cracks in the pipes that carry hydrogen fuel to the main engines.

The possible threat last week by Hurricane Lili on Houston also forced a five-day delay after Mission Control was shut down for the first time ever.

On Sunday, a heater problem in a water drainage line on Atlantis created another potential delay but engineers quickly fixed the problem.

The launch marked the debut of the shuttlecam, a colour video camera secured near the top of Atlantis’ external fuel tank. It beamed down live images as the shuttle flew over the Atlantic coastline.

“It is the next best thing to actually being on board, and in some ways you get a view you never had, even if you are on board,” said Jim Halsell, a shuttle manager and former shuttle commander.

However, about two minutes after launch, the camera was clouded by debris when the shuttle’s rocket boosters dropped away and the rest of the images were foggy.