by bintangkecil on Monday, May 11th, 2009 | News

By John Raoux, AP

Atlantis lifted off at 2:01 p.m. EDT on a mission to upgrade the world’s most famous telescope.

After a smooth countdown and picture-perfect liftoff, space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven astronauts are in space, ready to begin their 11-day mission to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis lifted off Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:01 p.m. EDT.

Atlantis and the STS-125 crew lifted off on a mission to upgrade the world’s most famous telescope.
(NASA.gov)

The six men and one woman will attempt the complicated tasks on a mission that was delayed last fall, two weeks before the scheduled launch, after the orbiting telescope broke down.

Two spacewalking teams will replace Hubble’s batteries and gyroscopes, install two new cameras and try to repair two broken science instruments not designed to be tinkered with in space.

Follow the countdown minute-by-minute as Atlantis is prepared and the astronauts suit up and ride to the pad. Updated first-hand from the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA.gov)

NASA is currently livestreaming the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Watch LIVE: Atlantis Launch Coverage here!

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