The space shuttle Atlantis launched successfully yesterday, carrying the Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. This is something of a relief for journalists who have been writing about the pending launch for months.

Space.com would like you to believe that the 7 metre long, 13 tonne module is Europe’s “first piece of orbital real estate in space”. This is doing a great disservice to the mighty European Space Agency, which points out in its press release that, “Although Columbus is ESA’s major contribution to the ISS, it is neither the first, nor will it be the last to be launched.”

ESA has already provided a data management system, several research equipment racks, part of the ISS freezer, the Harmony connecting module and the ‘Microgravity Science Glovebox’ (pictured left). So there.

Even so Daniel Sacotte, ESA’s Director for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration Programmes, says, “The launch of Columbus marks the onset of a new era. We have long waited for this moment in European human spaceflight and space-related sciences.”

Before the launch there were some doubts about whether the weather would be good enough for blast off. But all went well and, two months late, Atlantis took off smoothly.

So smoothly in fact some parts of the press felt the need to make the launch sound rather more exciting than it actually was. The Houston Chronicle declared the shuttle ‘charged into orbit Thursday, defying threats of stormy weather’. Yahoo news went with the bizarre ‘Atlantis pursues space station’. Tune in later to find out if it catches up!

Image top: NASA TV / Image bottom: ESA