Return to Flight: STS-114 Launch Countdown Began

Mission: International Space Station Flight LF1 Shuttle: Discovery Launch Pad: 39B Launch: July 13, 2005 at 3:51 p.m. EDT Landing: July 25, 2005 at 11:01 a.m. EDT Duration: 12 days Orbital Insertion Altitude: 122 nautical miles Orbit Inclination: 51.60° For the first time since the Columbia tragedy, NASA's countdown clocks were ticking down the hours, minutes and seconds to launch, heightening the anticipation for a Wednesday liftoff of Discovery. The countdown for the first space shuttle flight in 2 1/2 years began Sunday evening as Hurricane Dennis battered the Florida Panhandle off to the northwest. The mission's seven astronauts flew in from Houston on Saturday evening, a day early... AP | NASA