![STS-129 launch STS-129 launch](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHTJDIkOWgyL_XjRmcYoxZYwTpbIadFq2iy5U2Y4HvSfVSMMrZz_fj5ZDcHeLcHuvn2IZ9tAHEhDdXYdG2NLUn7-HLsGRFF9OJJvaTCZVNb9vV_wmMqFJbvXfBW02XMbyojfa/s400/STS-129+launch.jpg)
NASA mission managers monitor the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis from Firing Room Four of the NASA Kennedy Space Center, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. Shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew are on an 11-day STS-129 mission to the International Space Station to transport spare hardware to the outpost and return a station crew member who spent more than two months in space.