Endeavour on space station mission

The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour has roared off its seaside launch pad in Florida for a 15-day mission to renovate the International Space Station for an expanded crew.

Endeavour, carrying seven astronauts, lit up the night sky at the Kennedy Space Center as it soared aloft on a column of flame and smoke, settling safely into Earth's orbit about 8 1/2 minutes after launch.

The shuttle is carrying about 32,000 pounds (14,520 kg) of equipment to the space station, including two new sleeping chambers, a second toilet, a refrigerator, exercise gear and a new water purification system needed to expand the station's crew to six members from three next year.

The $250 million water recycling system will enable the crew members to purify their urine and other wastewater for drinking.

"We did blind taste tests of the water," said NASA's Bob Bagdigian, the system's lead engineer. "Nobody had any strong objections. Other than a faint taste of iodine, it is just as refreshing as any other kind of water."

NASA expects to process about 6 gallons (23 litres) of water per day with the new device. The goal is to recover about 92 percent of the water from the crew's urine and moisture in the air.

The wastewater is processed using an extensive series of purification techniques, including distillation, filtration, oxidation, ionization and the addition of iodine to control microbial growth.

The shuttle is scheduled to arrive at the space station on Sunday for a stay of 11 or 12 days.