Liftoff of Shuttle Atlantis

The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral with five crew members aboard. The shuttle was on a mission to release the 17-ton Gamma Ray Observatory, a $600 million astronomy satellite designed to collect information on gamma rays, radiations which can only be detected above the Earth’s atmosphere. During the flight, the crew members were also planning to test several types of equipment designed to move future astronauts around in space during work on a space station. The countdown and liftoff of the shuttle were perfect. The footage of the shuttle was provided by NASA television, and the radio conversations between ground control and the shuttle accompany the video. close