'Endeavour' takes off from Florida for longest ever space station mission
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven are on their way to the international space station.
The space shuttle blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Tuesday morning to begin what is expected to be the longest space station mission ever. It is a 16-day voyage to build a two-armed robot and add a float-in closet for a future lab. Five spacewalks are planned.
Liftoff came in the middle of the night, and it was the first shuttle launch in darkness since 2006.
Japan supplied the laboratory storage compartment that is flying aboard Endeavour. Canada built the robot, named Dextre.