Shuttle Night Launch

via Space.com

First night shuttle launch since the Columbia tragedy is scheduled to lift off on Dec. 7th on a 12 day ISS construction mission. The launch window closes Dec. 17 due to technical reasons on the orbiter's computers about the change of the year.

"Veteran NASA shuttle flyer Mark Polansky is commanding the 12-day spaceflight, which includes the delivery of a new portside piece of the ISS, a trio of tricky spacewalks to rewire the outpost’s electrical grid, and an astronaut swap for the station’s Expedition 14 crew."

NASA has been launching the shuttle only during daylight to assist cameras utilized in the technical analysis of the "falling foam" debris from the launches that were identified as the probable issue with the Columbia launch that caused the loss of that vehicle and crew on reentry. With three launches since that disaster, it is now felt by agency engineers that there is no longer any rationale to hold to day only launches.