KSC-2009-4136

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A fish-eye view of space shuttle Endeavour as it lifts off NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A into the cloud-washed sky on the STS-127 mission. At the bottom, underneath the main engine nozzles are the blue mach diamonds. The mach diamonds are a formation of shock waves in the exhaust plume of an aerospace propulsion system. Liftoff was on-time at 6:03 p.m. EDT. This was the sixth launch attempt for the STS-127 mission. The launch was scrubbed on June 13 and June 17 when a hydrogen gas leak occurred during tanking due to a misaligned Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate. The mission was postponed July 11, 12 and 13 due to weather conditions near the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy that violated rules for launching, and lightning issues. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section in the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray, Tom Farrar