Discovery blazes into orbit

(NECN/NASA) – The space shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts blazed into orbit late on Friday night local time on a spectacular midnight flight to the International Space Station. Discovery lit up the sky for miles around Cape Canaveral, Florida, as it thundered away on NASA’s third launch attempt. Weather forced one delay and a faulty fuel valve and its indicator caused the other. “The launch weather didn’t look the greatest when I came on console,” said NASA’s Mike Moses, chair of the mission management team. “In fact, I had to have the windshield wipers on as I was driving in. But it cleared out on us pretty good.” Lightning flashed far in the distance, and the ascending shuttle resembled a bright star until it blinked out of sight five minutes after liftoff. Discovery is carrying seven astronauts and 17,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the space station. It is due to arrive Sunday.