Columbus has taken twenty-three years in the making. Columbus is a primary contribution of European Space Agency. The NASA scientists were at the elation while seeing their successful Atlantis lift off with Columbus space mission.

Cape Canaveral — shuttle Atlantis moved into its orbit with Europe’s gift to the international space station. Atlantis with its seven-man crew safely started from launch pad at 2:45 p.m. Rain and thunderstorms remained off though the sky was cloudy at launch time.

Columbus is designed with 23 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. It is a pressurized laboratory that can increase the space station’s research capability. The module weighs 22,700-pound; it was built in Italy and outfitted in Germany.

“Space shuttle Atlantis sets a voyage of science to the space station. Columbus, will add an international flavor to the station” said NASA’s Launch Control. “No other launch will be more momentous than the Columbus, which brings the international participation,” said Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator.

Three hundred Europeans who gathered at the launch site celebrated with sparkling grape juice and French chocolates at the Kennedy Space Center. “We are all excited like heck,” said Alan Thirkettle, Europe’s space station program manager.

All fuel gauges in Atlantis’ were functioning well at the time of final stage of the countdown. The gauges failed in December due to faulty connector, and then the NASA redesigned to fix the problem.

Columbia disaster made scientist of NASA to be more careful with the Atlantis mission. The laser inspections are made as an important procedure after the Columbia disaster. “We’re coming back from some technical problems that led to the loss of Columbia.” -Said Griffin in an interview with The Associated Press.

Atlantis astronauts Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel will make a spacewalk to prepare the lab for its move. Crewmates Stan Love and Leland Melvin will pluck Columbus from the shuttle’s cargo and bolt it onto the station. The crew is scheduled to enter the lab on Monday.

“Some pieces of insulating foam fell off during the liftoff on Thursday, but they did not pose any threat” said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. “Small pieces have bounced off Atlantis’ but there is no damage”. He added.

The real work of the astronauts’ begins on Sunday. The astronauts’ will remove the 23-foot Columbus lab from Atlantis’ payload bay and attach with the space station with the help of robotic cranes. This will be assisted by two spacewalkers. Atlantis is planned for eleven days mission, but one more day in orbit will help the crew more time to prepare the European lab for experiments.

“Columbus discovered new world, and we are also discovering it.” – said Jean-Jacques Dordain European Space Agency’s chief.

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