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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Water plants in the foreground are cast in shadow from the backlighting of the flames spewing from space shuttle Discovery as it races toward space. Billows of smoke and steam cover the pad except for the fixed service structure in the center and the water tower at right. Liftoff of Discovery was on time at 11:38:19 a.m. EDT. The mission is the 23rd assembly flight to the space station and the 34th flight for Discovery. The STS-120 payload is the Italian-built U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. During the 14-day mission, the crew will install Harmony and move the P6 solar arrays to their permanent position and deploy them. Discovery is expected to complete its mission and return home at 4:50 a.m. EST on Nov. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph, Tony Gray, Robert Murray