Space Shuttle Atlantis leaps from the billowing steam and smoke on Launch Pad 39B after an liftoff.

With a tail of flame burning white hot, Space Shuttle Atlantis leaps from the billowing steam and smoke on Launch Pad 39B after an on-time liftoff of 3:46 p.m. EDT on mission STS-112. Along with a crew of six, Atlantis carries the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A. The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss. [Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews]