Riding a column of fire space shuttle Atlantis hurtles into the sky over NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Riding a column of fire, space shuttle Atlantis hurtles into the cloud-washed sky over NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis and its crew of seven will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The launch was on-time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Fletcher Hildreth