SPACEPHOTOS

(03/17/2000) -- Viewed down the 715-foot-long Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the orbiter Atlantis is lifted to a vertical position in the transfer aisle. The 122-foot-long orbiter is dwarfed by the 525-foot-tall, 518-foot-wide VAB. Once in position, Atlantis will be mated with its external tank and solid rocket boosters before being transported to Launch Pad 39A. Atlantis will fly on mission STS-101 to the International Space Station, where its crew of seven will prepare the Station for the arrival of the next pressurized module, the Russian-built Zvezda. Atlantis is expected to launch no earlier than April 17, 2000