Rockdale High School grad blasts off with space shuttle Published: February 8, 2001
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Space shuttle Atlantis blasted off Wednesday with the most expensive and pivotal piece of the international space station: a $1.4 billion science laboratory.The shuttle and its crew of five soared into a clear sky at 6:13 p.m., with a rising full moon in the background and the setting sun turning the exhaust trail a beautiful gold and peach. The plume cast a rainbow-like shadow that seemed to stretch all the way to the moon.Commanding Atlantis is 1968 Rockdale High School graduate Ken Cockrell, who has logged more than 906 hours in space | more from Feb. 8related articlesmost popular |