CAPE CANAVERAL - SPACE shuttle Atlantis and seven astronauts blasted off on Monday on an ambitious 11-day mission to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope, an icon of modern astronomy that has changed scientists' understanding of the universe.
The shuttle lifted off its seaside launch pad at 2:01 pm (2.10 am Singapore time), heading toward an orbit 563 km above the planet and a Wednesday rendezvous with the Hubble telescope.