CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Space shuttle Atlantis roared off its seaside Florida launch pad on Saturday after two weeks of delays, setting the stage for NASA to resume assembly of the International Space Station.
It was the final possible day for the launch before NASA faced a lengthy delay while Russia flies a replacement crew to the space station. The U.S. space agency is eager to resume construction of the $100 billion orbital complex, which was halted after the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster.