Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares for launch at Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis sits poised for launch on Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on December 5, 2007. NASA is making final preparations to launch Atlantis on Mission STS-122, a service mission to the International Space Station to install the European Space Agency's Columbus module. The shuttle is scheduled to launch at 4:31 p.m. EST on December 6. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch).