Good luck and Godspeed

The US Space Shuttle Discovery made a perfect launch this afternoon at 2:38PM Florida time. Here's to an uneventful journey and a safe return home to the ship and her seven crew members. Space.com has the story:

Shuttle Discovery Reaches Orbit
NASA celebrated the Fourth of July with some rockets of its own Tuesday as the space shuttle Discovery launched its seven-astronaut crew into orbit.

After two scrubbed attempts, Discovery shot spaceward at 2:37:55 p.m. EDT (1837:55 GMT) from Pad 39B here at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The launch marked NASA�s first-ever shuttle flight to leave Earth on Independence Day.

�Discovery's ready, the weather's beautiful, America is ready to return the space shuttle to flight.,'' NASA launch director Michael Leinbach told Discovery�s astronaut crew just before liftoff. �So good luck and Godspeed, Discovery.�

�I can't think of a better place to be here on the Fourth of July,� said Steven Lindsey, commander of Discovery�s STS-121 mission. �We�re hoping to very soon get you an up close and personal look at the rocket�s red glare.�