Discovery roared into the dark nighttime Florida sky at 11:59 pm Friday (0359 GMT Saturday), as scheduled, and reached orbit just a few minutes later.

The shuttle and its crew of seven astronauts -- including one Swede -- is to deliver to the ISS equipment for a new bedroom, a treadmill, a freezer, food and other supplies. It will also be dropping off the newest member of the ISS team -- US astronaut Nicole Stott.

Stott will be taking over from engineer and fellow American Tim Kopra, who has been aboard the ISS since July and is returning to Earth with the Discovery.

The launch had been delayed three times. A first attempt on Tuesday was cancelled shortly before liftoff when weather conditions were deemed too dangerous, and two subsequent attempts were thwarted by problems with a liquid hydrogen fill-and-drain valve.

NASA engineers eventually discovered that the problem was caused by false instrument readings and devised a method of determining if the valve was properly closed in case the instruments malfunction again.

The crew led by astronaut Rick Sturckow will be delivering to the station 6.8 tonnes of cargo transported in a pressurized module called Leonardo that was built by the Italian space agency.

Two astronauts from the team are scheduled to conduct three spacewalks of six and a half hours each during the 13-day mission, which is the fourth of five planned for the shuttle this year. The last is scheduled for November.

One of the key goals of the space walks is the replacement of an old liquid ammonia tank, which will be substituted with a new 800 kilogram replacement brought from Earth aboard the Discovery. The substance is used as a coolant.

The astronauts will also be retrieving experiment equipment from the outside of the ISS and returning it to Earth for processing.

The Discovery team is delivering a freezer and a treadmill. The freezer will store samples of blood, urine and other materials that will eventually be taken back to Earth for study on the effects of zero-gravity.

The COLBERT treadmill, named after popular US comedy talkshow host Stephen Colbert, will be the second aboard the ISS. Exercise is key for astronauts spending long periods of time in space, where zero-gravity can result in muscle atrophy.

The mission will be the 128th for the space shuttle program, and the 30th mission to the ISS.

Once the Discovery mission is complete, just six more shuttle flights remain before NASA's three shuttles are retired in September 2010.

The International Space Station is a project jointly run by 16 countries at a cost of 100 billion dollars -- largely financed by the United States.

earlier related report
Astronauts board Discovery for fourth launch attempt
Final preparations were underway Friday for a fourth attempt to launch the space shuttle Discovery as its crew boarded the vessel for a takeoff scheduled for a minute before midnight.

Dressed in bright orange space suits, the seven astronauts -- six Americans and one Swede -- left their quarters at the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida just after 8:00 pm (0000 GMT).

A traditional silver-colored minibus transported the astronauts the few kilometers from their quarters to launchpad 39A, accompanied by security vehicles and a helicopter.

The shuttle's liftoff to the International Space Station for a 13-day mission is scheduled for 11:59 pm (0359 GMT) with meteorologists predicting a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions.

The launch is scheduled to be NASA's 33rd nighttime shuttle liftoff.

Crew commander Rick Sturckow was the first to board the shuttle, with his co-pilot Kevin Ford following behind.

Discovery's hatch is scheduled to be closed at 10:00 pm (0200 GMT), after which the crew will conduct several tests, including making sure the cabin is airtight.

Control of communications will then shift to NASA's Houston facility, which handles the launch process.

About ten minutes before takeoff, Pete Nickolenko, the launch director, will consult with the various officials involved in monitoring technical issues and weather conditions for the launch to get a final green light for liftoff.

Allard Beutel, a spokesman for the Kennedy Space Center told NASA television earlier that conditions looked good and the launch crew were "not working any technical issue."

The launch has so far been delayed three times. A first attempt on Tuesday was cancelled shortly before liftoff when weather conditions were deemed too dangerous, and two subsequent attempts were thwarted by problems with a liquid hydrogen fill-and-drain valve.

NASA engineers eventually discovered that the problem was caused by false instrument readings and devised a method of determining if the valve was properly closed in case the instruments malfunction again.

Preparations for takeoff began earlier Friday with the filling of Discovery's fuel tank -- a process that takes about three hours.

The tank, painted a bright orange color and attached to the outside of the shuttle, is 46.9 meters (154 feet) high -- that is roughly the same as the Statue of Liberty.

Once the shuttle takes off it is expected to spend 13 days in space on a mission to deliver equipment and a new team member to the International Space Station (ISS).

Astronaut Nicole Stott is to take the place of American Tim Kopra, who will ride the shuttle back to Earth.

Also aboard the Discovery is a new freezer for the ISS, which will be used to store samples of blood, urine and other materials that will eventually be taken back for studies on the effects of zero-gravity.

The Discovery is also to deliver a second treadmill, named humorously the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) after popular US satirist Stephen Colbert.

Exercise is important for astronauts spending long periods of time in space, because zero-gravity can result in muscle atrophy.

The mission will include three scheduled spacewalks that will be taken up in part with the installation of a new liquid ammonia coolant tank.

The shuttle commander is veteran astronaut Rick Sturckow.

In addition to Stott, his crew are pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John Olivas, and Christer Fuglesang, a Swede from the European Space Agency (ESA).

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