The space shuttle Endeavor took off from the Kennedy Space Center early Monday morning. The space shuttle took off at 4:14 a.m. out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, which was the shuttle’s second take off attempt in the last two days. Endeavor was scheduled to take off on Sunday, but due to significant cloud coverage in the Cape Canaveral area, the launch was delayed until early Monday morning.

The shuttle is carrying six astronauts who are embarking on a 13 day mission to the International Space Station. The mission is the last of many major construction missions, which were intended to improve the International Space Station. This mission is carrying a new module which contains a dome shaped observation deck, which features seven windows. The new module, which is named the Tranquility module, is Italian-built, weights 13.5 tons, and cost over $400 million to construct.

Beyond being an observation deck, the Tranquility module will hold various life support systems, including equipment for air and water purification. In the new module, there will also be a new bathroom and several pieces of exercise equipment.

This mission comes about a week after Barrack Obama’s speech which stated that NASA’s budget will be cut and the program will need to receive some private funding to continue.

Endeavor Has Successful Early Morning Launch