Blazing light surrounds Launch Pad 39A and glows as space shuttle Endeavour leaps into the sky on the STS-126 mission.

Blazing light surrounds Launch Pad 39A and glows in the nearby water at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Endeavour leaps into the sky on the STS-126 mission. Liftoff was on time at 7:55 p.m. EST. STS-126 is the 124th space shuttle flight and the 27th flight to the International Space Station. The mission will feature four spacewalks and work that will prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph-Kevin O'Connell