Discovery Launches With Japanese Laboratory

(Cape Canaveral, Fla., May 30, 2008) -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:02 p.m. EDT Saturday to deliver and install a Japanese laboratory on the International Space Station.

The mission, designated STS-124, is the second of three flights to launch components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Discovery is carrying Kibo's tour bus-sized Japanese Pressurized Module, or JPM, which will be the station's largest module. The shuttle astronauts will work with the three-member station crew and ground teams around the world to install the JPM and Kibo's robotic arm system.

Shortly before launch, Commander Mark Kelly thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "We're going to deliver Kibo, or hope, to the space station," Kelly said. "And while we tend to live for today, the discoveries from Kibo will certainly offer hope for tomorrow."

Source : NASA

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