In fact, just 11 seconds remained of the launch window when the computer problem was solved by an engineer carefully typing in a series of commands to reset the affected systems, officials explained after the launch.NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said he continues to be impressed by the shuttle launch team: "They make it look like just another day in the office."
As part of the evolving security procedures adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America, NASA did not provide live coverage on NASA TV of the astronauts departing crew quarters for the launch pad -- a first for a civilian mission.
Other new security measures included not releasing the exact launch time until 24 hours before liftoff.
But once again fighter aircraft flew cover over the space center, this time intercepting three general aviation aircraft that inadvertently crossed into restricted airspace and were forced to land without incident, officials said.
Meanwhile, NASA TV coverage began at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) with familiar scenes of the astronauts boarding the shuttle and continued normally, allowing the world to see and hear what was going on as the launch time approached.
"OK Bloomer, it looks like we've got a good vehicle for you today. You've spent a few extra days in Florida but it's time for you guys to take a ride. So we wish you luck on the next assembly mission on the International Space Station," shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach radioed Atlantis just before liftoff.
"Thanks to everybody and we'll see you back here in about 11 days," came the reply from Atlantis commander Mike Bloomfield, who also recognized the teams that fixed the leaking hydrogen line, prepared their cargo for flight and strapped them into their seats.
With ground computers controlling the final nine minutes of the countdown and Atlantis' onboard computers running the show during the final 31 seconds, all went well as the shuttle's three upgraded main engines and twin solid rocket boosters ignited to send the shuttle on its way.
Nine minutes later Atlantis safely reached orbit and during the next couple of hours the crew opened the shuttle's cargo bay doors, doffed their spacesuits and set up their spaceship for the mission ahead.
Atlantis' 25th flight -- and NASA's 109th shuttle mission -- was the first to feature complete reliance on a set of three so-called Block 2 space shuttle main engines. A single Block 2 engine had made up one of the trio on two previous missions.
Developed during the past decade at a cost of more than $1 billion, the Block 2 engine is the final result of a long process that resulted in new designs for major engine parts such as the high pressure turbopumps, hot gas manifold, heat exchanger and engine throat.
The overall goal of the engine upgrade program was to increase safety and make it easier to inspect and maintain the engines between flights, saving money in the process.
But the key change was in the Pratt & Whitney high pressure turbopumps -- first in 1995 with the introduction of the liquid oxygen pump and now with the liquid hydrogen pump.
"These pumps are fantastic. We've basically eliminated the welding inside the pump that we could not inspect. We've made the pump beefier, more robust," said NASA shuttle program director Ron Dittemore. "With this new pump, it just keeps on chugging. It'll run to (main engine cutoff) or it'll have a graceful shutdown. It's a tremendous improvement in our safety."
For mission specialist Jerry Ross, the uphill ride aboard Atlantis marked his seventh trip into space -- the first human in history to do so -- and a return to a familiar setting he has come to love during more than two decades of life as an astronaut.
"If I were to tell you the number of things I'm anticipating or looking forward to on this mission it would probably take several days," Ross said during a pre-flight news conference. "I know what to expect and I can't wait to do it again. I think I must be addicted to spaceflight."
As for the three rookies on this flight -- pilot Stephen Frick and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Lee Morin -- they have now become the 412th, 413th and 414th humans to leave the planet.
"We haven't quite figured out how they're going to determine who gets which slot," Bloomfield joked before the mission.
At the time of Atlantis' launch, the space station was orbiting 240 miles above the Atlantic Ocean just east of Washington, D.C. There was a chance the Expedition Four crew of Yuri Onufrienko, Dan Bursch and Carl Walz would be able to look out a window and see the shuttle climbing toward them.
Nevertheless, a two-day chase is now on for Atlantis to rendezvous and dock with the frontier outpost, an event that is targeted for about 12:07 p.m. EDT (1607 GMT) Wednesday.
The spaceplane is to remain joined to the station for seven days as the primary goal of the mission is carried out, namely the installation of the so-called S-Zero truss -- a $790 million package of wiring, plumbing, computers, navigation instruments and the world's first spaceborne railroad system.
"This particular mission will be one of our more complex," said Joe Mills, a senior program manager for prime space station contractor Boeing. "We're going to be anxious and holding our breath until we install that truss."
Mission specialist Ellen Ochoa is to operate the station's Canadian robot arm on Wednesday to lift S-Zero from Atlantis' cargo bay and place it atop the U.S. Destiny science module. There a giant claw will be closed to initially hold in place the truss, which is 44.2 feet (13.5 meters) long and 14.5 (4.4 meters) feet wide.
Four spacewalks during six days will be needed to deal with the estimated 250 mechanical and 110 electrical connections it will take to securely fasten the truss to Destiny and wire it up so it works.
Mission specialists Steve Smith and Walheim will take on spacewalks No. 1 and 3, while Ross and Morin will pair up for No. 2 and 4 and in the process become NASA's first pair of spacewalking grandfathers.
A fifth spacewalk to support the S-Zero truss installation is available if needed, officials said.
S-Zero will serve as the centerpiece to which additional truss segments are to be added during the next two years, forming a rigid beam that eventually will stretch greater than the length of a football field.
To that completed keel NASA program managers plan to attach new power-generating solar wings and heat-dispelling radiators, enhanced utilities that will be required before launching new science laboratories built by Japan and the European Space Agency.
All of the cooling and electricity provided by the equipment connected to the beam will be managed and fed into the rest of the station through the S-Zero truss with the help of four computers dedicated to just that task.
"Everything kind of comes together at that point for distribution to the rest of the space station," said Bob Castle, a space station flight director.
The truss also will sport a pair of rails along which a moving platform called the Mobile Transporter will be able to travel while serving as an attach point for the station's Canadarm2.
The transporter, which will be hooked up and tested during Atlantis' mission, is critical to the agency's future assembly plans. The arm must be able to pluck another truss segment or power module from a shuttle cargo bay and then slide along the existing truss to install the new hardware at either end.
No other means of delivering the cargo is available, officials said.
As it stands, Atlantis is to undock from the outpost at 2:35 p.m. EDT (1835 GMT) April 17 and return to Earth two days later, touching down back in Florida at 12:42 p.m. EDT (1642 GMT) April 19.
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