The space shuttle Atlantis made a grand exit from Earth's gravity Friday night, lifting seven astronauts into space towards the international space station.
The shuttle launched from Cape Canaveral at 7:38 p.m. ET, leaving a trail of smoke across the sky.
Earlier, as the crewmembers climbed into the massive shuttle, astronaut Danny Olivas had paused to say "I love you" in sign language.
"People really are enchanted by astronomy, space science, space flight, space exploration," York University astronomer Paul Delaney told 麻豆影视net.
"It is one of the driving anchors to many of our science curriculum at high schools and universities. People are excited about what these people are doing."
The Atlantis mission is the first for NASA this year after a three-month delay. A freak storm in late February dented the insulating foam of the shuttle's external tank with golf-ball sized hail, as it waited for a mid-March launch.
After extensive repairs, the patched-up areas of the shuttle are still visible. The new foam hasn't had time to oxidize to match the appearance of the tank's undamaged areas.
"They spent a couple of months fixing that and making sure the fixes they did were going to be good," NASA astronaut Ed Lu told Canada AM. "They convinced themselves that we should be good to go tonight."
The Atlantis mission is just one of 13 needed to deliver all the major components required for the space station, before the fleet is retired in 2010.
"This one is one in a series of missions that are increasing the power supply of the station so it is adding one of the solar arrays," Lu said. "Since all the missions go in a row, you can't just fly them in any order, so all of the missions following this depend upon this mission being successful."
One of the goals of the NASA mission is to expand the International Space Station by adding two new trusses. They will include solar wing panels and a rotary joint so the wings can track the sun for power.
Ottawa-based company Neptec, which specializes in developing 3D vision systems for use in military, manufacturing and aerospace, has developed a Space Vision system that will assist the shuttle crew with position and attitude cues during assembly.
"It takes a look at some little black and white targets that are on the space station and helps the astronaut align things," Neptec president Iain Christie told CTV's Canada AM. "So when they try to put that new truss on, they make sure it's lined up before they basically push the button and make the latch trip so that it all comes together."
Neptec, which has maintained a relationship with NASA since 1995, will also be providing their laser camera technology for the mission. It's used to perform inspections of the shuttle's exterior to ensure there is no danger when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.
The mission will also use a robotic work station that was developed by the same Canadians behind the famous Canadarm.
"The shuttle can't fly without any of it," Christie told Canada AM.
In addition to the technology aboard the mission, approximately 20 Neptec employees will be working at mission control.
NASA's last shuttle mission in December included having to make an unplanned spacewalk to coax a jammed panel into a storage box.
On this mission, the agency has backup plans and extra fuel in case the mission needs to be extended.
Labour unrest at the Kennedy Space Center did not impact the launch. Last week, almost 570 machinists and aerospace workers rejected a contract offer from the United Space Alliance, NASA's primary contractor for the space shuttle.
With files from the Associated Press
