JSC2002-E-41161 (7 October 2002) --- Flight director John Shannon monitors data at his console in the shuttle flight control room (WFCR) in Houston�s Mission Control Center (MCC). At the time this photo was taken the Space Shuttle Atlantis was about to launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Atlantis lifted off at 2:46 p.m. (CDT) on October 7, 2002. Once the vehicle cleared the tower in Florida, the Houston-based team of flight controllers took over the ground control of the flight.