STS-117 Atlantis delivers third solar array to ISS 6/8/07 ~ 7:38:04pm Homepage       Launch Photos The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven crewmembers roar into space 41 minutes before sunset on June 8 on a mission to deliver the third of four sets of gigantic solar arrays to the International Space Station. The array, attached to the S3/S4 truss segment as a whole, will provide more power and support to the major and long-awaited laboratory modules being delivered later this year and early next, including Europe's Columbus lab and Japan's Kibo modules. S3/S4 solar arrays Rollover to VAB 1st Rollout 2nd Rollout Crew arrival at KSC Remote Setup On the pad launch morning Crew Walkout 747 SCA arrival back at KSC

The famous Complex 39 Press Site is the closest vantage point to Pad 39A at 3.05 miles. The awesome, deafening sound and violent, pant-shaking fury of STS-117 was more than any launch in recent memory:

An unprecedented spectacle floated over Central Florida after the sun went down, as Atlantis' smoke plume, lit at varying altitudes by the already set sun, formed abstract art that caused everyone in the area to run outside and stare up, mouths open. If viewed from a long distance away, what appears to be swirls would actually appear as a wavy line stretching up and down in altitude: