NASA launches the space shuttle despite problems with the external fuel tank. Spokesman Tom Martinez said "Look folks, we all know some debris is going to come off this thing when it launches, but given the fact that we have a female pilot on this trip we really don't see the debris as the biggest risk factor. Personally I wrote this trip off as a disaster when we missed the launch time by 5 seconds because the captain was doing her makeup in the rearview mirror."