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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 39B at NASA Kennedy Space Center, Space Shuttle Discovery fires its engines for liftoff on Return to Flight mission STS-114 to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 10:39 EDT. It is the 114th flight in the Space Shuttle Program and the 31st for Discovery. The 12-day mission is expected to end with touchdown at the Shuttle Landing Facility on Aug. 7. On this mission to the International Space Station the crew will perform inspections on-orbit for the first time of all of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edge of the wings and the Thermal Protection System tiles using the new Canadian-built Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the data from 176 impact and temperature sensors. Mission Specialists will also practice repair techniques on RCC and tile samples during a spacewalk in the payload bay. During two additional spacewalks, the crew will install the External Stowage Platform-2, equipped with spare part assemblies, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope contained in the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure. (Photo Credit: Scott Andrews)