Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Atlantis Launch Successful



KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN)
-- The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off successfully Monday afternoon on NASA's fifth and final repair visit to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Space shuttle Atlantis launched successfully from Florida Monday on its way to the Hubble telescope.

Space shuttle Atlantis launched successfully from Florida Monday on its way to the Hubble telescope.

The spacecraft rocketed into mostly sunny skies right on schedule at 2:01 p.m. ET.

Atlantis will spend five days upgrading the Hubble, the orbiting observatory that's been scanning the universe for almost two decades.

For the seven members of the shuttle crew, that means added pressure.

"I think [this] is motivating us because we know there's nobody coming after us to do anything we don't get done," said Atlantis Commander Scott Altman. "This is it. We either get it done or it doesn't happen."