Sunita becomes 2nd Indian origin woman in space

Sunita Williams on Sunday became the second woman of Indian origin after Kalpana Chawla to venture into space when the US shuttle Discovery, with seven astronauts onboard, rose into the night sky on a 12-day repair mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The shuttle blasted off with a thunderous roar in a cloud of white smoke and flame and reached orbit about nine minutes later also carrying with it a 11-million-dollar truss segment to add to the space lab.

The crew, of which five have never flow in a space shuttle before, is on a complex mission during which they will give the ISS a new electricity system.