US space shuttle Endeavour has successfully launched in its latest mission to the International Space Station.
It is carrying parts of a Japanese laboratory that is to become the largest and last research component of the ISS.
Endeavour took off at 6.28am Irish time, in a rare night launch from the Kennedy Space Center.
The shuttle's crew of seven is on a 16-day mission to install the first stage of the Japanese laboratory named Kibo, a micro-gravity research facility which aims to open a vital new stage in deeper space exploration.
When all three stages are installed, Kibo, 'hope' in Japanese, will complete the research nucleus of the ISS, along with the US, Russian and European laboratories.
On Sunday, The European Space Agency carried out the maiden launch of a robot freighter designed to rendezvous automatically with the ISS.
The cylinder-shaped Automated Transfer Vehicle will deliver seven and a half tons of food, water, pressurized air, fuel and personal items to the ISS crew.
