Space shuttle Atlantis is revealed on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is rolled back.

Space shuttle Atlantis is revealed on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after the rotating service structure, or RSS, is rolled back. Rollback was complete at 8:44 p.m. EST. The White Room at the end of the orbiter access arm, at left, provides the crew with an entryway into the crew compartment. The RSS also provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. Rollback of the pad's RSS is one of the milestones in preparation for the launch of mission STS-122, scheduled for 4:31 p.m. EST on Dec. 6. Beneath the shuttle is the mobile launcher platform which supports the shuttle until liftoff. Atlantis will carry the Columbus Laboratory, the European Space Agency's largest contribution to the construction of the International Space Station. It will support scientific and technological research in a microgravity environment. Permanently attached to Node 2 of the space station, the laboratory will carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as perform a number of technological applications. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett