Atlantis Rockets Into History

CAPE CANAVERAL — Space shuttle Atlantis rocketed off the launch pad Friday at the Kennedy Space Center and into space for the historic final mission for the program.

The flight, which had been threatened by inclement weather leading up to the launch, lifted off nearly three minutes after its scheduled launch time.

NASA held the countdown at T-31 seconds to confirm the refueling arm had fully retracted from the external fuel tank–which led to confusion among the thousands gathered at the media site–before the countdown resumed.

With an estimated one million people watching along Florida’s Space Coast, which included hundreds of men and women from around the world viewing the launch as part of a NASA Tweetup, the three man and one woman crew lifted off from Launch Pad 39A and began their 12-day mission to the International Space Station at 11:29 a.m.

Atlantis cut through the muggy Florida air, shaking the ground miles away, and cut through the clouds en route to space. 

The crew will be delivering food, supplies and spare parts to the space station, and assist with scheduled space walks during the mission.

Atlantis’ return to Earth will mark the end of the Space Shuttle Program for NASA. For more than 30 years, the shuttle transported astronauts, satellites and the Hubble Space Telescope, in addition to delivering components into orbit for the International Space Station.

The five orbiters have flown 537,114,016 miles, and an estimated four million additional miles will be added to that total by Atlantis.

When the shuttle lands on July 20 at Kennedy Space Center, it will be on the 42nd anniversary of the moon landing.

Were you at the launch? Got photos or impressions to share? Email editor Jason Bartolone.