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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An exhaust cloud forms around space shuttle Atlantis as it springs into action from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff on its STS-129 mission came at 2:28 p.m. EST Nov. 16. Aboard are crew members Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr. On STS-129, the crew will deliver two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers to the International Space Station, the largest of the shuttle's cargo carriers, containing 15 spare pieces of equipment including two gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Atlantis will return to Earth a station crew member, Nicole Stott, who has spent more than two months aboard the orbiting laboratory. STS-129 is slated to be the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight. For information on the STS-129 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Cooper KSC-2009-6343
STS-129 - LAUNCH - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
STS-118 - LAUNCH - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Just before sunset, Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off Launch Pad 39B at 5:19:28 p.m. EST (22:19:28 GMT) on mission STS-108. At left can be seen one of the six 12-foot-high rainbirds circling the Shuttle on the mobile launcher platform. Part of the sound suppression system, when solid rocket booster ignition and liftoff occur, a torrent of water flows onto the MLP from the rainbirds. Acoustical levels reach their peak when the Space Shuttle is about 300 feet above the MLP. Beyond the Shuttle can be seen part of the Banana Creek. Endeavour will dock with the International Space Station on Dec. 7. STS-108 is the final Shuttle mission of 2001and the 107th Shuttle flight overall. It is the 12th flight to the Space Station. Landing of the orbiter at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is targeted for 1:05 p.m. EST (18:05 p.m. GMT) Dec. 16 KSC-01pp1805
STS-128 - LAUNCH - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
The Final Launch of STS-135 Atlantis
Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-2 LAUNCH - KSC
View of the launch of Endeavour which began the STS-108 mission
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Discovery begins its climb into space, clearing the fixed service structure at left, after liftoff at 6:49:42 a.m. EDT. The crew of seven begin a 10-day logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station. Discovery carries about 4,000 pounds of supplies, to be stored aboard the station for use by future crews, including laptop computers, cameras, tools, spare parts, and clothing. The mission also includes such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-involved experiment. It will include a space walk to attach the cranes to the outside of the ISS for use in future construction. Landing is expected at the SLF on June 6 about 1:58 a.m. EDT KSC-99pp0597
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Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission
Summary
STS129-S-034 (16 Nov. 2009) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis and its six-member STS-129 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with the International Space Station. Liftoff was on time at 2:28 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 16, 2009 from launch pad 39A at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Onboard are astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, commander; Barry E. Wilmore, pilot; along with Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Randy Bresnik, all mission specialists. Atlantis will deliver two Express Logistics Carriers to the station, the largest of the shuttle's cargo carriers, containing 15 spare pieces of equipment including two gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Atlantis will return to Earth a station crew member, Nicole Stott, who has spent more than two months aboard the orbiting laboratory. STS-129 is slated to be the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight.
The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.