Fire in the sky

Shortly after the space shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida before dawn Monday, freelance photographer Allen Hooper, 29, shot six time exposures to capture its movement across the North Carolina night sky.

Hooper said he did a little online research before the shoot to learn how to set his camera. He picked a spot at the base of the Manns Harbor Bridge and waited.

When he saw the faint light of the shuttle's engines, he said, "I made the exposures and hoped for the best. I was so excited, my mouth was wide open the whole time."

It was the last scheduled night launch for the space shuttle program. The Endeavour is carrying the last major piece of the International Space Station.

Two of the shuttle's crew members, Nicholas J.M. Patrick and Air Force Lt. Col. Robert L. Behnken, will conduct three spacewalks to install a 23-foot-long, 15-foot-wide Tranquility module. The module includes a seven-windowed dome, or cupola, that will offer panoramic views of Earth and space.