The space shuttle Discoveryblasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida today in Nasa's first shuttle mission since Columbiawas destroyed in 2003.
The launch was postponed from July 13th because of a problem with a fuel sensor.
The shuttle, carrying seven crew members, soared into slightly hazy skies, and the booster rockets separated without problem just after two minutes into flight. Around nine minutes after launch, the shuttle reached its planned preliminary orbit and cut off its three main engines.
The shuttle's mission is to test new safety and repair measures introduced after Columbiadisintegrated over Texas on February 1st, 2003, after falling foam knocked a hole in its wing on liftoff 16 days earlier.
Discoverywill also deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.
Two chase planes and more than 100 cameras documented the ascent from every possible angle to capture any sign of flying debris of the sort that doomed the last flight.
The multitude of images will not be fully analysed - and Nasa will not give a final verdict on whether Discoveryis safe to return to Earth - until halfway through the 12-day flight.
The fuel-gauge problem that thwarted a launch attempt two weeks ago did not resurface before liftoff, although the agency had been prepared to bend its safety rules to get the shuttle flying.