Discovery thundered away from its seaside pad at 2:38 p.m. EDT .
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said of the launch: ``They don't get much better than this."
It was Griffin who chose to go ahead with the mission over concerns from the space agency's safety officer and chief engineer about foam problems that have dogged the agency since Columbia was doomed by a flyaway chunk of insulation 3 1/2 years ago.
Three minutes after the launch commenced , as many as five pieces of debris were seen flying off the tank, and another piece of foam popped off a bit later, Mission Control told the crew. The latter piece seemed to strike the belly of Discovery, but NASA assured the seven astronauts it was no concern because of the timing.
Shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said Discovery was so high when the pieces came off that there wasn't enough air to accelerate the foam into the shuttle and cause damage.
``That is the very raw, preliminary data," he said. ``It will be a while before we get a complete picture of what happened during the ascent."
The astronauts reported seeing what they described as a large piece of cloth tumbling away from Discovery soon after reaching orbit. It looked like one of the thermal blankets that protects the shuttle, they said, but Mission Control later told them it may have been ice and that a similar observation was made during Discovery's flight a year ago. ``Wow, that's real good news," said shuttle commander Steven Lindsey.
Hale and others on the launch management team were in a jubilant mood over the smooth liftoff.
``No, we did not plan to launch on the Fourth of July, but it sure did work out to be great to launch on Independence Day," Hale said.
Lindsey, an Air Force fighter pilot, was at Discovery's controls and aiming for a Thursday linkup with the international space station.
``Discovery's ready, the weather's beautiful, America is ready to return the space shuttle to flight. So good luck and Godspeed, Discovery," launch director Mike Leinbach said just before liftoff.
``I can't think of a better place to be here on the Fourth of July," radioed Lindsey. ``For all the folks on the Florida east coast, we hope to very soon get you an up-close and personal look at the rocket's red glare."
