STS-38 Atlantis, OV-104, lifting off from KSC LC Pad during night launch

STS-38 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex Pad at 6:46:15:0639 pm (Eastern Standard Time (EST)). As OV-104, atop the external tank (ET) and flanked by two solid rocket boosters (SRBs), rises above the mobile launcher platform, exhaust smoke fills the area surrounding the launch pad. SRB and space shuttle main engine (SSME) firings glow against the night darkness and light up the fixed service structure (FSS) and retracted rotating service structure (RSS). STS-38 is a Department of Defense (DOD) devoted mission.