Shuttle Discovery blasts off

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Space shuttle Discovery lifted off Tuesday morning from the Kennedy Space Center on the U.S. space agency's 23rd mission to the International Space Station.

The 11:38 a.m. launch was on schedule under partly cloudy Florida skies and with no technical delays reported during the countdown. Ice formation on a liquid hydrogen hose had caused some concern, but inspectors determined it did not pose a launch hazard.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the STS-120 crew's 14-day mission will include five spacewalks -- four by the shuttle crew members and one by the space station's Expedition 16 crew.

The mission's main goals include adding an Italian-constructed U.S. module to the space station to act as a port for future laboratories. NASA said the installation of the Harmony module will mark the space station's first expansion since 2001.

Retired Air Force Col. Pamela Melroy is commanding the STS-120 mission, with astronaut George Zamka serving as the shuttle's pilot. The crew includes astronauts Daniel Tani, Douglas Wheelock, Scott Parazynski, Stephanie Wilson and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency.

Zamka, Wheelock and Nespoli are making their first spaceflight.