Space Shuttle Discovery Lifts Off

A bird takes advantage of the strong winds indicated by a horizontal wind sock near the Space Shuttle Discovery on Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, Dec. 8, 2006. NASA hopes to launch Discovery Saturday in a rare night launch if weather permits. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (Chris O'meara - AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Discovery lit up the sky late Saturday, blazing off for the first nighttime space shuttle launch in four years _ the latest step in NASA's ambitious schedule to complete the international space station.

The shuttle's fiery ascent turned night into day for spectators at the Kennedy Space Center. A cloudy sky with blustery winds earlier in the day gave way to clear skies and a gentle breeze at launch time.

"I think we have five people who just haven't stopped smiling yet," commander Mark Polansky said after Discovery reached space.

The mission is one leg of a three-year race to finish construction on the orbiting outpost before shuttles are retired in 2010. After Discovery's mission, 13 more shuttle flights are needed to complete the space lab.

Low clouds forced the space agency to scrub a launch attempt Thursday night during a countdown that ran down to the wire. Managers decided not to try again Friday because the forecast looked even worse.

"Forty-eight hours makes a tremendous difference," launch director Mike Leinbach told the crew. Later at a news conference, he said, "Everything just clicked. Everything felt good today."

During their 12-day mission, Discovery's crew will rewire the space station, deliver an $11 million addition to the space lab and bring home one of the space station's three crew members, German astronaut Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency. American astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams will replace him, staying for six months.

The launch was the first at night since Endeavour's flight in November 2002 and only the 29th in darkness of NASA's 117 total shuttle launches.

"What you've seen tonight is the successful accomplishment of the most challenging, demanding, technically state-of-the-art, difficult thing that this nation or any nation can do," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said.

Mission Control told Discovery's crew that there were no initial reports of any serious problems and that the shuttle was "in great shape."

"If this is any indication, it's a great start to a great mission," Polansky radioed back.

Engineers still need to review imagery and radar to look for damage to the shuttle from debris falling off the external tank during lift off, the problem that doomed Columbia.