SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS PERFECT LIFTOFF~PICS

Long-delayed Atlantis lifts off at last
By Eliot Kleinberg
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 09, 2006
CAPE CANAVERAL — At last.
Space shuttle Atlantis, held back years by tragedy, weeks by weather and days by bad hardware, finally got into space this morning.
Space shuttle Atlantis
News, more from NASA's latest mission.





































































MORE PICS BELOW

The ship lifted off at 11:14 a.m., its rat-a-tat turning to rumbling and the orange flame of its engine blinding against the morning sky for the few seconds before it disappeared into thick clouds starting to ferment into Central Florida's traditional summer afternoon thunderstorms.
Atlantis' crew will install a 17.5 ton, $372 million solar power assembly on the international space station.
"We're ready to get to work," shuttle commander Brent Jeff had said from the flight deck at about 11 a.m., as each mission manager signed off on the go to launch.
And at 7 minutes to launch, orbiter test director Jeff Lauffer told the crew, "Your patience is about to be rewarded. It's time to fly."
NASA has the option of adding a day to the 11-day mission to deal with complications in assembly, or make an inch-by-inch inspection of Atlantis in the event it sees a potential problem area on the ship.
Barring that extra day, Atlantis would return to the Kennedy Space Center landing strip at about 6 a.m. Sept. 20.




Fast Facts: Countdown for Atlantis Launch
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Official countdown for NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis (all times ET):

11:04:55 a.m. Countdown resumes for Terminal Count (T-minus 9 min)

11:06:55 a.m. Orbiter access arm retraction

11:09:55 a.m. APU start

11:10 a.m. Terminate LO2 replenish

11:10:55 a.m. Purge sequence 4 hydraulic test

11:11 a.m. IMUs to inertial

11:11:05 a.m. Aerosurface profile test

11:11:35 a.m. Main engine steering test

11:12:05 a.m. LO2 tank pressurization

11:12:25 a.m. Fuel cells to internal reactants

11:12:30 a.m. Clear caution-and-warning memory

11:12:55 a.m. Crew closes visors

11:12:58 a.m. LH2 tank pressurization

11:14:05 a.m. SRB joint heater deactivation

11:14:24 a.m. Shuttle GPCs take control of countdown (auto sequence start)

11:14:49 a.m. Main engine start (T-6.6 seconds)

11:14:55 a.m. LAUNCH

VIDEO OF THE LAUNCH BELOW.

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?090906/090906_shuttlelaunch&Cost_of_Freedom&Blast%20Off%21&acc&National&-1&News&917&&&exp