Space Shuttle Atlantis is barely visible above the column of fire and smoke as it soars after launching on mission STS-117.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is barely visible above the column of fire and smoke as it soars into the sky after launching on mission STS-117. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A was on-time at 7:38:04 p.m. EDT. At right is the viewing area on top of the buildings used by the Florida Today newspaper at the NASA News Center. The shuttle is delivering a new segment to the starboard side of the International Space Station's backbone, known as the truss. Three spacewalks are planned to install the S3/S4 truss segment, deploy a set of solar arrays and prepare them for operation. STS-117 is the 118th space shuttle flight, the 21st flight to the station, the 28th flight for Atlantis and the first of four flights planned for 2007. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews