That dwarfs Space Shuttle Endeavour leaps into the clear blue Florida sky on mission STS-99.

Trailing a column of flame and smoke that dwarfs it, Space Shuttle Endeavour leaps into the clear blue Florida sky on mission STS-99. Liftoff occurred at 12:43:40 p.m. EST. Known as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), STS-99 will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the SRTM could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. The mission is expected to last 11days, with Endeavour landing at KSC Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:36 p.m. EST. This is the 97th Shuttle flight and 14th for Shuttle Endeavour