May 11th, 2009: The Banana River catches the light from space shuttle Atlantis' liftoff from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014.
This outstanding photo is public domain.