AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE Number Six… …in the countdown to the shuttle’s retirement. Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls November 16, 2009 NASA mission managers monitor the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis from firing room four of the NASA Kennedy Space Center, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, Cape Canaveral, FL. Space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew began the 11-day STS-129 mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle will transport spare hardware to the outpost and return a station crew member who spent more than two months in space. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls) NASA/Bill Ingalls Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.