Last Space Shuttle Night LaunchFebruary 8, 2010—A cloud of exhaust engulfs a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the space shuttle Endeavour lifts off during the space shuttle program's last scheduled night launch. The launch is the first of the final five launches before NASA retires the space shuttle at the end of 2010.

Endeavour and its crew are on their way to the International Space Station to deliver supplies and help install the new Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members as well as house many of the station's life-support and environmental-control systems.

Photograph courtesy NASA

Space Photos This Week: Shuttle Launch, Moonbow

Endeavour lifts off on the final space shuttle night launch, Mars shines over a lunar rainbow, "Snowpocalypse" hits the U.S. East, and more in our selection of the week's best space pictures.

February 11, 2010