Shuttle on its way to beef up space station

Riding a brilliant tower of flame into the night sky, the space shuttle Endeavour left Earth on Friday, carrying seven astronauts on a 15-day mission to the international space station.
The space shuttle Endeavour launched on time at 7:55 p.m. ET on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida, mission managers announced.

"Preparing our home in space for a larger international family," launch commentator Candrea Thomas said during liftoff.

The 15-day flight's primary goal is to update the international space station so it can house six crew members at a time comfortably, instead of the current three.