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STS-135 Crew Suitup and Walkout The Journey Continues STS-135 Astronauts Strap Into Shuttle Atlantis > More Videos Main Engines and Steering Surfaces Checked Out Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:23:22 GMT Atlantis' main engines, rudder and wing flaps are going through a programmed range-of-motion check to assure the launch and flight control teams the vehicle will be able to steer. 'Go' for APU Start Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:22:12 GMT Five minutes to go. The shuttle's auxiliary power units are being activated now. Three APUs Ready to Start Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:21:08 GMT Pilot Doug Hurley confirms Atlantis' three auxiliary power units are configured for start. They'll be activated in about one minute. The hydrazine-fueled units produce the hydraulic power needed to move the shuttle's main engines and steering surfaces. Orbiter Access Arm Moves Away from Atlantis Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:20:10 GMT The White Room is leaving Atlantis' side as the orbiter access arm swings away from the vehicle, but it can return quickly in an emergency. "On behalf of the KSC launch team past and present, we salute the entire astronaut corps," said Wyrick. "Have a good mission, and Godspeed." T-9 Minutes and Counting Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:17:50 GMT The ground launch sequencer is in charge now, checking the shuttle's functions and sending commands. No planned holds are left in the final countdown of the Space Shuttle Program. Polls Complete; Atlantis is 'Go' for Launch Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:16:54 GMT Inside Firing Room 4 at Kennedy's Launch Control Center, NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach have verified that their team members all are "go" for launch. Leinbach then called Commander Chris Ferguson to relay the good news to the crew. "And Fergie, for the final time... good luck, Godspeed and have a little fun up there," he said to Commander Chris Ferguson. Clocks will resume at 11:17:46 a.m. EDT and count down the remaining nine minutes to launch at 11:26:46 a.m. Atlantis Waits to Begin 33rd Flight after Storied Career Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:04:03 GMT The fourth space shuttle orbiter to be built, Atlantis bears the name of the two-masted ship that served as Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute's primary research vessel from 1930 to 1966. Atlantis was delivered to Kennedy Space Center on April 9, 1985, and launched Oct. 3 of that year to begin its maiden voyage, the STS-51J mission. Just a few of the vehicle's most noteworthy missions were the first docking with the Russian Mir space station on STS-71 in June 1995; delivery of the Destiny laboratory to the space station on STS-98 in February 2001; the first launch with a camera mounted to the external tank, which captured the shuttle's ascent to orbit on STS-112 in October 2002; and the final servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on STS-125 in May 2009. Weather Currently Observed 'Go' for Launch Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:48:28 GMT Weather across Kennedy Space Center is observed "go," and hopefully conditions will remain that way for the next 40 minutes or so -- long enough for space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of four astronauts to launch on the STS-135 mission. "We are cautiously optimistic we will be 'go' for launch at 11:26 a.m.," said NASA Launch Commentator George Diller. Headed to the Pad Striding Out of the O&C Commander Suit Check > More Images Complete Shuttle Coverage    |    More About the Space Shuttle Era