Endeavour on way to space station after weeks of delay

Space shuttle Endeavour is on its way to the International Space Station after weeks of delay.

NASA had feared storms in Spain might postpone the flight for the second day in a row.

Endeavour is carrying a new set of residents and a $390 million space station girder almost identical to one launched last month.

As Endeavour prepared for take-off, Commander James Wetherbee told mission control: "From the bridge of Endeavour, we're ready to set thundering sail."

The shuttle will reach the space station on Monday.

Endeavour should have flown in October, but was grounded until November because of cracked fuel lines found throughout the shuttle fleet.

Then during a November 11 launch attempt, oxygen leaked from a cracked hose in the astronauts' supply line. And then the weather interfered.

Both Spanish air bases were socked on Friday night by the same storm system that sank an oil tanker earlier in the week. Only one had to be available for use by Endeavour in the rare event of engine failure or some other emergency during liftoff.

The shuttle is also taking up valves for the US carbon-dioxide removal unit aboard the station and extra air-scrubbing canisters. Both the American and Russian air purifiers have malfunctioned in recent weeks.