Posted: Sat, Sep 9, 2006, 12:42 PM ET (1642 GMT)
The space shuttle Atlantis successfully lifted off Saturday morning after two weeks' worth of delays on a mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:15 am EDT (1515 GMT) after a trouble-free countdown and reached orbit eight minutes later. The launch had been delayed nearly two weeks by a variety of factors, including a tropical depression, a problem with one of the shuttle's three fuel cells, and a sensor glitch on the shuttle's external tank that scrubbed Friday's launch. Atlantis is scheduled to arrive Monday morning at the International Space Station; during the 11-day STS-115 mission the crew will restart assembly of the ISS, suspended since the Columbia accident in early 2003, by installing a truss segment and solar arrays to the station.

Related Links:

•  Florida Today article
•  SPACE.com article
•  New Scientist article
•  AP article
•  Spaceflight Now launch status center