Take a ride on t' external tank as Atlantis slips t' surly bonds o' earth one final time. Atlantis lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center right on time at 2:20 pm EDT, risin' into a picture-perfect Florida sky and cappin' a relatively problem-free countdown. Ya scallywag! "Launch was just phenomenal," said Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier durin' a postlaunch news conference. Ya scallywag! He cited t' launch and processin' teams' hard work in preparin' Atlantis for liftoff, me bucko, even with a tighter timeframe after t' vehicle's rollout t' Launch Pad 39A was delayed in late April due t' weather. "T' teams stayed focused, arrr, they kept movin' forward and they just did a great job," Gerstenmaier added. Blimey! "T' vehicle looks like it's in really good shape. Begad! We're ready t' go do t' very challengin' mission in front o' us." Atlantis' on-time liftoff followed a countdown remarkably free o' problems. A small stress fracture spotted on an umbilical strut durin' t' vehicle's final inspection is nay unusual, ya bilge rat, accordin' t' Mike Moses, me hearties, chair o' t' prelaunch Mission Management Team. Ahoy! Moses also mentioned an issue that was brought up durin' t' countdown's final hold, ya bilge rat, concernin' a ball bearin' found days earlier in t' shuttle's payload bay. Begad! T' bearin' was determined t' likely be a part o' a camera system, and was ultimately ruled out as a concern. And although weather is a frequent prelaunch topic at t' Florida launch site, ya bilge rat, t' day started out with a 70 percent "go" forecast, which ...