(03/17/2000) -- Suspended by a crane over the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), orbiter Atlantis is lifted higher in order to move it toward the stack of external tank and solid rocket boosters at left. The 122-foot high orbiter is easily accommodated inside the 525-foot-tall, 518-foot-wide VAB. After being mated with the stack, Atlantis will be 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