Image at left: A close-up camera view shows Space Shuttle Columbia as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A on mission STS-107. Launch occurred on schedule at 10:39 EST.

NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center is America's premier gateway to the universe. As the world's only launch site for the Space Shuttle, Kennedy prepares the vehicles for each mission, operates each countdown and manages end-of-mission landing recovery activities. The Center also coordinates all expendable vehicle launches carrying a NASA payload, whether the launches take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, or elsewhere. Finally, as the last Earthly stop for International Space Station hardware, Kennedy prepares these elements for their missions in space.