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Gallery: Travels of Atlantis This collection of photos shows space shuttle Atlantis' rollback from launch pad 39B forced by tropical storm Ernesto. Before reaching the Vehicle Assembly Building, however, forecasters lowered their outlook for winds at Kennedy Space Center and officials opted to halt the move in favor of getting Atlantis back on the pad that day. Photo credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
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MISSION INDEX |
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A camera was mounted in the front of space shuttle Discovery's flight deck looking back at the astronauts during launch. This video shows the final minutes of the countdown and the ride to space with the live launch audio included. The movie shows what it would be like to launch on the shuttle with the STS-121 crew.
A high-altitude WB-57 aircraft flying north of Discovery's launch trajectory captures this incredible aerial footage of the space shuttle's ascent from liftoff through solid rocket booster separation.
This is the full launch experience! The movie begins with the final readiness polls of the launch team. Countdown clocks then resume ticking from the T-minus 9 minute mark, smoothly proceeding to ignition at 2:38 p.m. Discovery rockets into orbit, as seen by ground tracker and a video camera mounted on the external tank. About 9 minutes after liftoff, the engines shut down and the tank is jettisoned as the shuttle arrives in space.
