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The space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew roared into space Tuesday afternoon -- NASA's first manned launch on Independence Day and its second shuttle flight since the Columbia accident of 2003.
There were hugs and handshakes in NASA's Mission Control as Discovery made its way into orbit.
Plans call for a 12-day mission to deliver supplies to the international space station and drop off European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, of Germany, who will join the Expedition 13 crew members already there.
Astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum will conduct two spacewalks to test a new shuttle robotic arm and to repair a piece of equipment outside the space station.
They might also do a third spacewalk to test repair techniques on the shuttle's thermal protection system -- that would add a day to the mission.
NASA decided to go ahead with the launch after finding a pencil-sized crack in the foam insulation around the shuttle's fuel tank on Monday.
"It all looks fine, and the structure is in good shape," Associate Administrator William Gerstenmaier told reporters Monday evening.
The astronauts were all smiles as they suited up Tuesday morning.
Cmdr. Steve Lindsey appeared relaxed, shaking a crew assistant's hand before entering the cockpit where he was strapped into his seat for the ride into space.
Mission Specialist Lisa Nowak was the last to take her seat, and the hatch was sealed at 12:29 p.m. ET.
"They were feeling great, they feel ready to go," said astronaut Scott Kelly, whose brother Mark Kelly is the pilot of the shuttle.
NASA had delayed the launch Saturday and Sunday because of bad weather.
Tuesday's conditions gave NASA its best opportunity for launch. Crosswinds at the shuttle landing facility were "brisk" but within the limit for a safe return-to-launch-site abort landing, according to NASA mission control and its weather team.
Earlier Tuesday, in the course of the latest inspections, a circuit breaker in the shuttle's backup heating system was found to be not working, NASA officials said.
However, the agency decided not to send a team to switch it out, because the main system is functioning and officials feel comfortable flying as-is.
