US space shuttle blasts off for space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, June 9 (Reuters) The US space shuttle Atlantis blasted off on a construction mission to the International Space Station, ending a three-month grounding to repair the ship's hail-battered fuel tank.

The launch bolstered NASA's hopes of finishing work on the 100 billion dollars orbital research outpost, which is only slightly more than halfway built, before the aging shuttles are retired in three years.

Bathed in golden light from the setting sun, Atlantis and its seven-man crew lifted off at 05.08 AM IST from a newly refurbished launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

The pad had not been used since the ill-fated Columbia launch 4-1/2 years ago.

Riding atop a pillar of smoke and flame, the shuttle soared through clear skies, arcing out over the Atlantic Ocean and heading for an initial perch 220 km above the planet. Docking with the space station is planned for shortly after 01.00 AM IST tomorrow 354 km above the southern Indian Ocean.

''It was a beautiful launch, I'd forgotten how pretty they were,'' shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach told yesterday a news conference.

The shuttle is carrying the heaviest payload ever flown to the space station -- a 45-foot long, 16,183 kg aluminum structure that will become part of the station's structural backbone.

It includes a pair of solar wings and a rotary joint so the panels can track the sun for power.

NASA had hoped to fly the new components to the station in March, but Atlantis was taken off the launch pad for repairs after a hail storm in late February battered the foam insulation on the ship's external fuel tank. The delay forced NASA to drop one of five flights planned for this year.

'GIVE ME MORE SPECKLED TANKS' Though pockmarked, the tank performed well, according to shuttle program manager Wayne Hale.

''Give me more speckled tanks. I think it worked great,'' Hale told reporters, saying prelimary analysis of launch videos showed no dangerous flyaway debris.

The crew plans to make a thorough inspection of the ship's heat panels today to check for any damage.

The survey has been implemented for all shuttle flights after the 2003 Columbia accident. Columbia was hit by a piece of foam during launch which damaged its wing, triggering a catastrophic breakup over Texas as it flew through the atmosphere for landing 16 days later.

All seven crewmembers aboard were killed.

Additional inspections of the heat tiles on Atlantis' belly will be made by space station crewmembers, who will take high-resolution digital photos during the shuttle's approach. The shuttle and station are stocked with a variety of heat shield repair kits in case engineers find areas of concern.

The space station is also equipped to serve as a safe haven for shuttle crews if their ship is too damaged to make the return trip home.

The primary goal of Atlantis' flight, the 118th in shuttle program history, is to install the new solar wing panels and fold up an older wing that will be relocated to another part of the station next year. The last shuttle crew faced similar tasks and ended up having to make an unplanned spacewalk to coax a jammed panel into its storage box.

NASA is prepared if similar problems arise. The shuttle is stocked with extra fuel and supplies in case it has to stay in space an extra day or two.

Atlantis' flight is currently planned for 11 days, with landing at the Kennedy Space Center on June 19.

REUTERS CS KN0933