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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Blazing towers of flame propel space shuttle Endeavour into the dark sky from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The clouds of smoke and steam roll across the launch pad. Liftoff on the STS-123 mission was on time at 2:28 a.m. EDT. Endeavour's crew will make a record-breaking 16-day mission to the International Space Station and deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Photo credit: NASA/Rick Wetherington, Tim Terry, Tim Powers