Atlantis launched on time at 14:28 EDT (19:28:10 UTC), with launch commentator George Diller's words upon launch being "liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis, on a mission to build, re-supply and to do research on the International Space Station".
Powered flight conformed to the standard timeline (see Space Shuttle – Mission Profile – Launch), with main engine cutoff (MECO) occurring at eight minutes and 24 seconds Mission Elapsed Time (MET) and the external tank separating from the shuttle at eight minutes and 38 seconds MET into the flight.
A further boost from the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines was not required due to the nominal MECO and Atlantis settled into its planned preliminary orbit.
A subsequent NC-1 engine firing adjusted the orbital path of the shuttle to the ISS, by altering the shuttle's velocity, resulting in a new orbit of 147 by 118 statute miles.

At the post-launch news conference, NASA officials reported that three foam events were seen in the external fuel tank (ET) video camera footage.
They further quoted that the events weren't a concern since the foam loss events occurred after the aerodynamic sensitive time period.
Later in the day, based on a quick-look review of the launch video, crew communicator (CAPCOM) astronaut Christopher Ferguson also informed the shuttle crew that there were no ascent debris events of concern.

Flight day 1 on-orbit operations included, opening of the both payload bay doors of Atlantis at 21:12 GMT, deploying the radiators, deploying Ku-Band antenna to gain favorable communications, opening of the protective doors covering the star trackers on the nose of the shuttle, setting up the onboard computer network, downlinking imagery and data collected during the flight into orbit, getting out of their launch and entry spacesuits and stowing away the mission specialists' seats.

The crew also completed a thorough checkout of the shuttle's robotic arm earlier in preparation for the survey of Atlantis' wing leading edge panels and nose cap on flight day 2.
Some of the crew started their sleep period around 21:45 pm EST about an hour or so later than originally planned.
Atlantis launched on time at 14:28 EDT (19:28:10 UTC), with launch commentator George Diller's words upon launch being "liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis, on a mission to build, re-supply and to do research on the International Space Station". Powered flight conformed to the standard timeline (see Space Shuttle – Mission Profile – Launch), with main engine cutoff (MECO) occurring at eight minutes and 24 seconds Mission Elapsed Time (MET) and the external tank separating from the shuttle at eight minutes and 38 seconds MET into the flight. A further boost from the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines was not required due to the nominal MECO and Atlantis settled into its planned preliminary orbit. A subsequent NC-1 engine firing adjusted the orbital path of the shuttle to the ISS, by altering the shuttle's velocity, resulting in a new orbit of 147 by 118 statute miles.
At the post-launch news conference, NASA officials reported that three foam events were seen in the external fuel tank (ET) video camera footage. They further quoted that the events weren't a concern since the foam loss events occurred after the aerodynamic sensitive time period. Later in the day, based on a quick-look review of the launch video, crew communicator (CAPCOM) astronaut Christopher Ferguson also informed the shuttle crew that there were no ascent debris events of concern.
Flight day 1 on-orbit operations included, opening of the both payload bay doors of Atlantis at 21:12 GMT, deploying the radiators, deploying Ku-Band antenna to gain favorable communications, opening of the protective doors covering the star trackers on the nose of the shuttle, setting up the onboard computer network, downlinking imagery and data collected during the flight into orbit, getting out of their launch and entry spacesuits and stowing away the mission specialists' seats.
The crew also completed a thorough checkout of the shuttle's robotic arm earlier in preparation for the survey of Atlantis' wing leading edge panels and nose cap on flight day 2. Some of the crew started their sleep period around 21:45 pm EST about an hour or so later than originally planned.
STS-129