Washington, July 16 (DPA) Several pieces of insulation broke free from the space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank when it took off and at least one piece hit the orbiter, The New York Times reported.

Three heat-resistant tiles on the shuttle's underside were affected, but the damage during Wednesday's launch was superficial, the associate administrator for space operations William H. Gerstenmaier said.

The crew would check the shuttle after arrival at the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry because of damage to its heat shield caused by debris that broke loose during its launch, killing all on board.

Endeavour was heading toward the space station to expand Japan's Kibo laboratory module after it blasted off on its sixth attempt to launch since June.

Its seven-member crew is to deliver an outside porch to the module at the station to expose scientific experiments to the extremities of space.