The space shuttle Discovery darted into the night sky, leaving a huge trail of smoke below, beginning its mission to upgrade the 14-day ISS International Space Station.

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Discovery ship is available on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida state.

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Discovery is scheduled to launch last month but is postponed due to technical problems related to the fuel valve on the vessel's external fuel tank.

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Discovery's 7-person crew stepped out of the operating area towards the shuttle.

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The astronauts are about to enter the ship from the launch pad. Among these are Koichi Wakata (middle), the first Japanese astronaut to work permanently on the ISS station.

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The countdown clocked back to the time when Discovery ship left the launch pad in the presence of many paparazzi.

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Discovery ship roared off the ground and rushed into the air.

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Huge white smoke column left behind Discovery's path.