'Dawn' Space Probe Launches without a hitch, Space Shuttle Gears up for October Launch

NASA is busy these days, it doesnt seem that long ago that the shuttle Endeavor returned from its mission to the ISS (International Space Station) at the end of August but now the Space Shuttle Discovery and its crew of Astronauts are getting ready for another Mission to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch October 23rd.

The rocket that blasted off from Florida this morning is for the mission named "Dawn" - a probe is flying out the two Asteroids in the solar system to analyze and send back data. This 4 year long mission is the first to inlude two locations and will cover 1.8 billion miles!

The probe will, once in orbit spread its solar panels and use a small ion engine to start its long journey past Mars to its ‘first stop’ Vesta and then on to dwarf planet Ceres. The mission is planned to end 2015.

On the Shuttle launch, this will be the 23rd shuttle mission to the ISS and will bring the Harmony Node 2 - an italian built lab which will be added to the station - truly reflecting the international nature of the station.

The launch will take a European Space Agency astronaut on his first space flight.

Check back for more updates on the launch!

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