The four shuttle veterans took off at 11:29 a.m. after receiving NASA’s final clearance only a few minutes before liftoff to deliver a year’s worth of supplies to the International Space Station. The launch avoided postponement in the face of inclement weather when lightning struck a water tower a mere 515 feet from the launch pad. Atlantis is scheduled to return home on July 20 after its 12-day mission.
Atlantis’s final mission evoked emotions from onlookers and NASA employees alike, with spectators traveling from far and wide to complete their “bucket list” desires and a member of the shuttle’s ground crew posing with a sign reading “Godspeed, Atlantis.”
“The shuttle is always going to be a reflection of what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and commits to follow through,” said Commander Christopher Ferguson before takeoff to NASA launch director Mike Leinbach. “We're not ending the journey today. We're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end.”
More than 350 astronauts have travelled in 134 missions aboard five space shuttles since the first shuttle Columbia launched in April 1981.
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