Posted: Mon, Oct 7, 2002, 6:18 PM ET (2218 GMT)
The space shuttle Atlantis launched on schedule Monday afternoon on a mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis lifted off from Pad 39B of the Kennedy Space Center at 3:45:51 pm EDT (1945:51 GMT), precisely in the middle of its 10-minute launch window, as planned. There were no problems reported during the countdown, and the shuttle reached orbit without incident. The launch was the first to use a "rocketcam" video camera attached to the upper part of the shuttle’s external tank; the camera returned live video throughout the ascent. The shuttle is scheduled to dock with the ISS Wednesday at 11:29 am EDT (1529 GMT). The main purpose of the STS-112 mission is to install S1, the first starboard segment of the station’s truss. The shuttle will remain docked to the station for seven days; the full mission is scheduled to last 11 days.

Related Links:

•  AP article
•  Reuters article
•  SPACE.com article
•  Spaceflight Now article