KSC-2010-3363

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Children and adults at the Banana Creek Viewing Site near the Saturn V Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida snap photos and stare in awe as space shuttle Atlantis lifts off Launch Pad 39A. Launch of the STS-132 mission to the International Space Station occurred right on time at 2:20 p.m. on May 14. The Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 known as Rassvet, or 'dawn,' is inside the shuttle's cargo bay. It will provide additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. The laboratory will be attached to the bottom port of the station's Zarya module. The mission's three spacewalks will focus on storing spare components outside the station, including six batteries, a communications antenna and parts for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm. STS-132 is the 132nd shuttle flight, the 32nd for Atlantis and the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. For more information on the STS-132 mission objectives, payload and crew, visit www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts132_index.html. Photo Credit: NASA_Ben Cooper