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Journalism of Courage
The US space shuttle Discovery blasted off atop a cloud of smoke on Tuesday, soaring above Florida marshlands toward a rendezvous in two days with the International Space Station.
Discovery’s 14-day mission kicks off a two-month refurbishment of the $100 billion outpost that prepares the way for Europe’s first permanent laboratory in orbit.
The shuttle roared through a partly cloudy sky at 11:38 am EDT (1538 GMT), defying predictions by meteorologists that clouds and rain could force a delay.
A buildup of ice on the external fuel tank, which could have fallen off and hit the shuttle, was ruled out as a threat by NASA engineers. Cameras showed a lot of debris coming off once the shuttle reached space, where there is little chance of it resulting in serious damage.
