Debris falls from Endeavour during launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 15 (UPI) -- A dozen pieces of debris fell from U.S. space shuttle Endeavour's fuel tank during liftoff, and at least one piece hit the orbiter, NASA said Wednesday night.

The one piece struck the spacecraft about 1 minute, 46 seconds after liftoff, leaving white marks on the heat-resistant tiles on its underside, The New York Times reported.

It wasn't known if the debris caused any serious damage, Space.com reported.

"The bottom line is we saw some stuff," said Mike Moses, who heads the mission management team. "Some of it doesn't concern us, some of it, we just can't really speculate on right now. But we have the tools in front of us, and the processes in front of us to go clear the vehicle for entry. No real worries there, we just got to wait and see what happens."

In space and on the ground, NASA will spend the next few days analyzing damage to determine if it could endanger the shuttle during re-entry, the Times said.

The shuttle Columbia disintegrated in 2003, killing the seven astronauts on board because its wing was damaged by falling foam during liftoff, the Times noted.

Endeavour finally launched after five delays over a month's span, and its crew of seven astronauts headed into orbit on a flight to the International Space Station.

"Persistence pays off," Peter Nickolenko, the launching director, said to crew members a few minutes before launch. "Good luck and Godspeed."

The U.S. space agency said the liftoff followed a smooth countdown with no technical issues from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Later, NASA said, officials saw the falling debris, captured by a camera on the external tank.

Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, said the shuttle crew's mission to come is "very challenging," with five spacewalks and robotic activities scheduled for the 16-day mission. Another major task will be to complete construction of the Japan space agency's Kibo laboratory.