Posted: Thu, Feb 7, 2008, 9:36 PM ET (0236 GMT)
The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off Thursday afternoon on a long-delayed mission to deliver a European laboratory module to the International Space Station. Atlantis lifted off on schedule at 2:45 pm EST (1945 GMT) and entered orbit eight and a half minutes later. There were no technical problems reported during the countdown, and weather conditions, which were forecast to be poor, cleared enough to permit the launch. Atlantis is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 12:25 pm EST (1725 GMT) Saturday. The primary purpose of the 11-day STS-122 mission is to deliver the Columbus lab module to the station. The module is Europe's major contribution to the station. Two European astronauts are among the shuttle's seven-person crew; one of the two will remain on the station as ISS astronaut Dan Tani returns with the shuttle crew.
