Phoenix: Bound for Mars
A Delta II rocket lit up the early morning sky over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it carried the Phoenix spacecraft on the first leg of its journey to Mars. The powerful three-stage rocket with nine solid rocket motors lifted off at 5:26 a.m. EDT on Aug. 4.
Image credit: NASA
* A Atlantis *
Atlantis Lifts Off!
Photographers crowd around the countdown clock to capture the successful launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis from Launch Pad 39A. 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. Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
Photographers crowd around the countdown clock to capture the successful launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis from Launch Pad 39A. 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. Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann