NASA Associate Administrator Chris Scolese left watch the space shuttle Discovery launch on mission STS-120.

In the firing room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, NASA Associate Administrator Chris Scolese (left) and associate administrator for NASA Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier (right) watch the space shuttle Discovery launch on mission STS-120. Liftoff was on time at 11:38:19 am. EDT. Discovery carries the Italian-built U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. During the 14-day STS-120 mission, the crew will install Harmony and move the P6 solar arrays to their permanent position and deploy them. Discovery is expected to complete its mission and return home at 4:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls