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Only 40 seconds after lift-off, at an altitude of three-and-a-half miles, vapor clouds begin to form along the leading edges of the shuttle's solid rocket boosters as Atlantis reaches transonic speeds of 700+ mph. Just 8.5 minutes after liftoff, it will be traveling nearly 18,000 miles-per-hour reaching its targeted orbital height around the Earth. That's nine times faster than the speed of your average rifle bullet!