The space shuttle launch this morning seems to have gone off with only minor hitches:

Space shuttle Discovery and a crew of seven rocketed away Tuesday in pursuit of the International Space Station, where a formidable construction job awaits them.

Discovery
blasted off at 11:38 a.m., carrying up a giant Tinkertoy-type link that
must be installed at the space station before European and Japanese
laboratories can arrive.

Despite a forecast calling for rain right at launch time, the
weather ended up cooperating. And a chunk of ice on plumbing between
the external fuel tank and Discovery — 4 inches by 1 1/2 inches — was
deemed too small by NASA to pose a serious launch hazard. It appeared
to be melting as the countdown entered its final minutes.

Launch director Mike Leinbach wished the crew good luck and Godspeed just before liftoff.

"We’re ready to take Harmony to her new home," replied commander
Pamela Melroy, referring to the new space station compartment aboard
Discovery.

If you’d like to see the Nasa video of the shuttle launch it can be found here. You might have to use one of thet mirror sites as traffic gets very heavy on shuttle launch days.