Today saw the space shuttle Atlantic lift-off at the beginning of an 11-day mission to the Hubbe space telescope. This video shows the first ten minutes of flight after the vehicle launches from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

This mission, already canceled once five years ago, is considered risky, which means the space shuttle Endeavor is also standing by in preparation for a rescue mission for the crew of the Atlantic in case one is needed.

This is the final servicing mission for the aging space telescope and is expected to increase its lifespan to 2014. Five spacewalks are scheduled in the 11 days, all of which will be used to carry out necessary repair work.

Regardless of your feelings towards NASA and the space program, and whether money should be being spent in this way when the economy is in trouble, this footage is still incredible.