STS-104 Post-Flight Presentation

A heavy-duty crane towering over launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in recent weeks has removed several large sections of a disused structure once needed to install satellites and space station modules into space shuttle cargo bays.

This narrated footage shows the preparations that shuttle Atlantis and the mission payloads underwent at Kennedy Space Center for launch on STS-135 to the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s launch of the Starlink 6-56 mission will move the company past the total number of Space Shuttle Program missions from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff is set for 2:42 p.m. EDT (1842 UTC).