Atlantis is on orbit, and the seven-member crew is chasing the International Space Station for a Sunday rendezvous. NASA reports:
Atlantis Launches!
After a virtually flawless countdown, Space Shuttle Atlantis thundered into the early evening sky over Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The on-time launch headed the STS-117 crew toward the International Space Station where they will deliver a new crew member, truss segment and solar arrays.
+ View High-res Image
+ View Launch Day Photo Gallery
+ View Launch Day Video GalleryPost-Launch Press Conference - 9:30 p.m. EDT
NASA senior managers expressed their pride in Space Shuttle Atlantis’ successful liftoff. The launch was flawless and Atlantis is safely in orbit.
“The team really performed well,” said Rex Geveden, NASA associate administrator. “And it’s a really good day for NASA and for this nation’s Space Program.”
Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations stated that the launch of STS-117 is the first step of a challenging mission and although there are many challenges ahead, this was a great start to the launch year.
After the culmination of many months of hard work from the damaging hail storm that struck Kennedy Space Center late in February, “The external tank has performed in a magnificent manner,” said Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale.
The preliminary reports from the cameras that took images of the external tank during liftoff showed no foam loss prior to solid rocket booster separation.
“This bodes well for the future as we look forward to the completion of the space station,” Hale said.
Mission Management Team chairman Leroy Cain and NASA launch director Mike Leinbach expressed their gratitude to the entire NASA and contractor team that prepared the space shuttle for launch.
“It was a beautiful night for a launch,” said Leinbach. “I’m just very proud to be part of this team.”
Launch pics here. Videos here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.





