Night Launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

Explanation: Sometimes, the space shuttle launches at night. Pictured above , the space shuttle Endeavour lifted off in yesterday's early morning hours from Launch Pad 39A in Kennedy Space Center , Florida , USA , bound for the International Space Station (ISS). A night launch , useful for reaching the space station easily during some times of the year, frequently creates vivid launch imagery . The shuttle, as pictured above , is framed by an enormous but typical exhaust plume ejected as the shuttle's powerful rockets began lifting the two million kilogram space bus into Earth orbit . Endeavour's mission, labeled STS-130 , includes the delivery of the Tranquility module to the space station. Tranquility will provide extra room for space station astronauts and includes a large circular set of windows designed to bestow vastly improved views of the Earth, the night sky, and the space station itself .