KSC-2010-3386

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis rumbles the Space Coast as it begins to lift off its pristine launch complex, which is home to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Launch from NASA Kennedy Space Center's 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_Tony Gray and Tom Farrar