CAPE CANAVERAL - The US space shuttle Discovery blasted off Saturday on a complex International Space Station mission in the first night launch in four years.
The shuttle`s two rocket boosters successfully separated from the orbiter two minutes after launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Endeavour was the last space shuttle to lift off at night, on November 23, 2002.
In the wake of the February 2003 Columbia disaster, the following three shuttle missions were launched during the day.
The daylight launches were a safety precaution to allow NASA cameras to detect any debris that could damage the orbiter`s heat shield during liftoff.
A piece of insulating foam damaged Columbia`s heat shield shortly after launch, leading to the shuttle disintegrating upon re-entry to Earth`s atmosphere.
12/10/2006 01:51 GMT