and the rest of the crew.

Here’s the NASA announcement:
Discovery Launches!
Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:05:10 AM EDT
Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts are rocketing toward orbit after a brilliant nighttime liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle’s solid rocket boosters separated as planned and the three main engines are now powering the shuttle during its 8 1/2-minute climb.

We wish all seven astronauts a successful mission and a safe return to their loved ones.
We’ll post about the progress of their flight. You can also follow Astronaut Jose Hernandez bilingual tweets here.