Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-132

STS132-S-070 (14 May 2010) --- Convoy vehicles are standing by at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in the event a Return-to-Launch-Site abort should be necessary following the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A occurred right on time at 2:20 p.m. EDT on May 14. Atlantis' primary payload for the STS-132 mission is the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1, which will provide additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft aboard the International Space Station. 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/Carl Winebarger