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Shuttle soars with $390 million cargo
By Richard Stenger (CNN)
(CNN) -- The space shuttle Atlantis roared into orbit Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying six passengers and a $390 million girder to attach to the international space station. Atlantis, the first shuttle to fly since June when the entire fleet was grounded for engine repairs, should arrive at the orbiting outpost on October 9. The primary payload is a 15-ton, 45-foot-long (14-meter) metal truss, filled with enough cables and wires to require three spacewalks to hook it up to the space station. The aluminum structure includes 15 miles (24 kilometers) of wiring, several radiators and a rail cart, which spacewalking astronauts will use on future space station construction jobs. "The weather is beautiful, and you guys have been in Florida far too long. So we wish you luck," a NASA flight controller told the Atlantis crew shortly before launch. The shuttle took off with the first ever shuttlecam, a video camera mounted near the top of the shuttle's external tank. It beamed back breathtaking images of the Florida coast and Atlantic Ocean as Atlantis raced skyward. The dramatic view slowly clouded over, however, as propellant from a shuttle booster rocket smudged the camera lens. The afternoon launch was originally slated for early July. But shuttle managers delayed the flight six weeks as NASA technicians repaired hairline engine fuel line cracks in all four orbiters. The 11-day mission was rescheduled for last week, but suffered another delay when Hurricane Lili threatened to drench Mission Control in Houston, Texas. The crew includes shuttle commander Jeffrey Ashby, making his third space flight; David Wolf, a medical doctor and former occupant of the retired Mir Space Station; and Piers Sellers, an ecologist from Britain making his first trip into orbit. The Atlantis fliers will be the first guests for the current space station residents, one American and two Russians, who arrived at the modular outpost the first week of June. The trio will certainly welcome the visitors, who packed away fresh oranges, grapefruit and other goodies from home for their hosts.
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