Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, is blocked by its large orange external tank (ET) as it leaves Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) during its rollout to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39A. The crawler transporter heads along the specially designed roadway with OV-104, the ET, and two solid rocket boosters mounted on top of a mobile launcher platform. KSC facilities including the VAB and Launch Control Center (LCC) are visible in the background. OV-104 heads to LC Pad 39A after the shortest stay in the VAB since return-to-flight. OV-104 is being prepared for launch on STS-36, a Department of Defense (DOD) dedicated mission. View provided by KSC with alternate KSC number KSC-90PC-134.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is seen during a helicopter flight, Friday, May 29, 2026, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The flight surveyed Launch Complex 36 following a New Glenn hotfire test anomaly on May 28. Photo Credit: (NASA/John Kraus)

STS036-S-006 (28 Feb 1990) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis sets off a spectacular light display with the launching of STS-36. Liftoff from KSC's Pad 39A occurred at 2:50 a.m. (EST), February 28, 1990. The launch, actually the 34th STS liftoff, begins another in a series of Department of Defense flights. Onboard the spacecraft are Astronauts John O. Creighton, commander; John H. Casper, pilot; and Richard M. (Mike) Mullane, David C. Hilmers and Pierre J. Thuot, all mission specialists.