Shuttle Atlantis heads for Int'l Space Station

“A perfect launch, right on time,” said a spokesman for the U.S. space agency as the crew reached orbit — hurtling at a speed of more than 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometers) per hour.

With only five launches left before the 2010 retirement of the shuttle fleet, NASA officials said the parts were essential for extending the life of the space station, where the crew is due to dock on Wednesday.

“This flight is all about spares, basically, we're getting them up there while we still can,” said mission director Brian Smith, “you'll see this theme in some of the flights that are going to come after ours as well.”

This fifth and final shuttle mission for 2009 is scheduled to include three space walks to store hardware on the exterior of the space station and bring U.S. astronaut Nicole Stott, who has been on the ISS since August, back to earth.

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