Filling the ground with billows of smoke and steam created by the flaming solid rocket boosters, Space Shuttle Atlantis speeds toward space on mission STS-106. The perfect on-time liftoff occurred at 8:45:47 a.m. EDT. On the 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. The first long-duration crew is due to arrive at the Station in late fall.