The launch of NASA's final space shuttle mission to service & extend the operational life & capabilities of the famed Hubble Space Telescope, courtesy of the shuttle Atlantis, which thundered off pad 39A on May 11, 2009 at 2:01 p.m. EDT. It was Atlantis' only flight to Hubble, but the fifth overall Hubble flight for NASA, & fourth Hubble servicing mission (HSM-4). Over the next 13 days Atlantis & her crew of 7 covered over 5.3 million miles traveled, all the while installing new instruments on Hubble, replacing others, & took on a number of other tasks to ensure Hubble could live on until its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, is ready.

More information on the high profile mission can be viewed HERE.

Photographed from the NASA Causeway on KSC, roughly 6 miles south of pad 39A.

All images are copyright www.MikeKillianPhotography.com, all rights reserved, unauthorized use is prohibited.