CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA launched the Space Shuttle Atlantis on a mission to the International Space Station Monday afternoon.
Atlantis lifted off on schedule at 12:28 p.m. MST on a mission to stockpile the International Space Station with big spare parts.
It's also carrying an experiment from the University of Colorado - Boulder on butterflies. Two habitats will take monarch and painted lady butterflies to grow and develop in space.
Students in Denver and Jefferson County classrooms will be able to watch the butterflies grow. They'll compare them to how butterflies develop on earth.
Atlantis' six astronauts woke up around the time fueling got under way Monday well before dawn.
The 11-day flight is expected to keep the astronauts in orbit through Thanksgiving. They plan to unload nearly 30,000 pounds of pumps, tanks and other spare parts, as well as science experiments.
It's NASA's fifth and last shuttle flight of the year. There are only five flights left in NASA's space shuttle program.
Atlantis lifted off on schedule at 12:28 p.m. MST on a mission to stockpile the International Space Station with big spare parts.
It's also carrying an experiment from the University of Colorado - Boulder on butterflies. Two habitats will take monarch and painted lady butterflies to grow and develop in space.
Students in Denver and Jefferson County classrooms will be able to watch the butterflies grow. They'll compare them to how butterflies develop on earth.
Atlantis' six astronauts woke up around the time fueling got under way Monday well before dawn.
The 11-day flight is expected to keep the astronauts in orbit through Thanksgiving. They plan to unload nearly 30,000 pounds of pumps, tanks and other spare parts, as well as science experiments.
It's NASA's fifth and last shuttle flight of the year. There are only five flights left in NASA's space shuttle program.
