Endeavour Blasts Into Night Sky

Space shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven blasted into the night sky today, bound for the International Space Station and the most extreme home makeover project ever attempted by astronauts, the AP reports. The shuttle rose off its launch pad at 7:55 p.m. EST, right on time, in a brilliant flash of light visible for miles around.

"We're about to get an extreme home makeover. It's an exciting day," space station commander Mike Fincke radioed to Mission Control. "It doesn't get better than this, my friends." Endeavour's astronauts will double as kitchen and bathroom installers once they arrive at the space station Sunday, hooking up extra cooking and sleeping equipment so the space station's crew can expand next year. (More Endeavor stories.)