A good portion of the Kennedy Space Center launch complex 39 and the Atlantic Ocean form the backdrop for the beginning stages of Atlantis' return trip to space. The scene was captured with a hand-held 70mm camera aimed through the windows of a NASA shuttle training aircraft piloted by astronaut Daniel C. Brandenstein, chief of Johnson Space Center's astronaut office. Launch occurred at 9:30:34 a.m. (EST), Dec. 2, 1988.