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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lights on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center reveal space shuttle Atlantis following the rollback of the rotating service structure, or RSS. Rollback was complete at 8:44 p.m. EST. The orbiter access arm, at left, extends from the structure to a position next to Atlantis' crew compartment. The White Room at the end of the arm provides the crew with an entryway into the orbiter. The RSS also provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. Rollback of the pad's RSS is one of the milestones in preparation for the launch of mission STS-122, scheduled for 4:31 p.m. EST on Dec. 6. Beneath the shuttle is the mobile launcher platform which supports the shuttle until liftoff. Atlantis will carry the Columbus Laboratory, the European Space Agency's largest contribution to the construction of the International Space Station. It will support scientific and technological research in a microgravity environment. Permanently attached to Node 2 of the space station, the laboratory will carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as perform a number of technological applications. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett