STS-76 Atlantis, OV (Orbiter Vehicle) 104, lifts off from KSC Pad 39B

STS076-S-009 (22 March 1996) --- From the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Launch Pad 39B, the space shuttle Atlantis heads toward Earth orbit and an eventual docking with Russia's Mir Space Station. Mir has been in space for ten years and a two man crew (Mir-21) currently awaits the arrival of Atlantis. The on-time launch occurred at 3:13:04 a.m. (EST) on March 22, 1996. Onboard are astronauts Kevin P. Chilton, Richard A. Searfoss, Ronald M. Sega, Michael R. (Rich) Clifford, Linda M. Godwin and Shannon W. Lucid. Lucid will remain onboard Mir for just under five months' time, as a cosmonaut guest researcher. Photo credit: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration