The US space shuttle Discovery was launched just as scheduled Tuesday morning two and a half years after the Columbia disintegration grounded NASA's shuttle fleet.

Amid heavy white smoke, glaring red flames and huge roars, the shuttle lifted off from the launch pad at exactly 10:39 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT) as planned, leaving a straight column of smoke behind. The first launch attempt was called off on July 13 because one of the four fuel sensors malfunctioned during the pre-launch testing.

After exhaustive efforts, NASA last weekend decided that it had eliminated all the possible causes of the sensor problem and would have a second try. It also hoped tests during the fueling of the shuttle's external tank would help find out what exactly caused the launch glitch on July 13.

All the sensors turned out to be good during pre-launch testing on Tuesday, licensing a greenlight to the shuttle liftoff. The weather was favorable, too.

Source: Xinhua