Rolling on course Atlantis blasts off and rolls to a heads-down position for its trek toward orbit as seen in this dramatic tracking camera footage. Boosters separate The twin solid rocket boosters are jettisoned from space shuttle Atlantis having completed their job during the launch. A tracking camera captures the separation of the twin solid rocket boosters from Atlantis. The seven Atlantis astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday evening in advance of their launch to the international space station. A bolt of lightning struck launch pad 39B during a severe thunderstorm on Sept. 5 where space shuttle Atlantis is waiting for liftoff.
Video shows views from different angles.
NASA animation shows Atlantis approaching and docking to the International Space Station during the STS-106 mission. Take an animated tour of the exterior of the international space station in its current configuration, including the Unity, Zarya and Zvezda modules and Progress cargo freighter. QuickTime Spaceflight Now uses QuickTime to deliver exceptional video and audio quality in fast-loading, compact files. QuickTime version 4 is required. For more information about QuickTime visit the Apple web site or click the button below to download the free software for Windows PCs or Macs.