KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Wrapped in clouds of smoke, the Boeing Delta II rocket with its MESSENGER spacecraft on top climbs free as it lifts off on time at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is on a seven-year, 4.9-billion-mile journey to the planet Mercury. The spacecraft will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times, as well as circling the sun 15 times, to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The MESSENGER spacecraft atop a Boeing Delta II rocket lifts off on time at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT, from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is on a seven-year, 4.9-billion-mile journey to the planet Mercury. The spacecraft will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times, as well as circling the sun 15 times, to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The tip of the Boeing Delta II rocket with its MESSENGER spacecraft on top breaks through the billows of smoke below as it lifts off on time at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is on a seven-year journey to the planet Mercury. The spacecraft will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A glow appears beneath the Boeing Delta II rocket as it begins liftoff with its payload, the MESSENGER spacecraft, on top. Liftoff occurred on time at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is on a seven-year, 4.9-billion-mile journey to the planet Mercury. The spacecraft will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times, as well as circling the sun 15 times, to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Boeing Delta II rocket with the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft aboard is ready for launch on a seven-year journey to the planet Mercury. This is the second launch attempt in two days after the first attempt Aug. 2 was postponed due to lightning potential from residual clouds that were associated with Tropical Storm Alex. The launch of MESSENGER is rescheduled for this date at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT at the opening of a 12-second launch window. MESSENGER will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After rollback of the mobile service tower, the Boeing Delta II rocket with the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft aboard is ready for launch on a seven-year journey to the planet Mercury. This is the second launch attempt in two days after the first attempt Aug. 2 was postponed due to lightning potential from residual clouds that were associated with Tropical Storm Alex. The launch of MESSENGER is rescheduled for this date at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT at the opening of a 12-second launch window. MESSENGER will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Framed by a blue hazy sky and bluer Atlantic Ocean, the Boeing Delta II rocket with the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft aboard is ready for launch on a seven-year journey to the planet Mercury. This is the second launch attempt in two days after the first attempt Aug. 2 was postponed due to lightning potential from residual clouds that were associated with Tropical Storm Alex. The launch of MESSENGER is rescheduled for this date at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT at the opening of a 12-second launch window. MESSENGER will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Boeing Delta II rocket with the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft aboard is ready for launch on a seven-year journey to the planet Mercury. This is the second launch attempt in two days after the first attempt Aug. 2 was postponed due to lightning potential from residual clouds that were associated with Tropical Storm Alex. The launch of MESSENGER is rescheduled for this date at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT at the opening of a 12-second launch window. MESSENGER will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The top of the Boeing Delta II rocket with its MESSENGER spacecraft on top breaks through the billows of smoke below as it lifts off on time at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is on a seven-year, 4.9-billion-mile journey to the planet Mercury. The spacecraft will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times, as well as circling the sun 15 times, to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Against the clear, black sky, spotlights flood the MESSENGER spacecraft aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket as it sits ready for liftoff, scheduled for 2:15:56 a.m. EDT, from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is on a seven-year journey to the planet Mercury. The spacecraft will fly by Earth, Venus and Mercury several times to burn off energy before making its final approach to the inner planet on March 18, 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.