CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— Shuttle Atlantis and four astronauts soared into history Friday, blasting off from Kennedy Space Center after a dramatic and emotional countdown that put a shuttle in orbit for the last time.
Despite a bleak early forecast, the weather improved enough for managers to debate the significance of a single, small rain cloud in the final minutes before agreeing to give Atlantis a “go” to launch the 30-year program’s 135th and final mission.
“Good luck to you and your crew on the final flight of this true American icon,” shuttle launch Director Mike Leinbach radioed. “For the final time, Fergie, Doug, Sandy and Rex, good luck, Godspeed and have a little fun up there.”
“We’re not ending the journey today, Mike. We’re completing a chapter of a journey that will never end,” Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson replied.
Spectators watch the final launch of Atlantis Friday morning in Titusville, Fla. Four astronauts are taking the space shuttle for one last ride, the very last one of the 30-year space shuttle era. / Gerry Broome / Associated Press
A slight pause
But the shuttle wasn’t ready to roar into the history books just yet. Thirty-one seconds before a planned 10:26 a.m. CDT liftoff, the countdown suddenly halted.
Launch teams scrambled to confirm that a gas vent arm over the shuttle’s rust-colored external tank had fully retracted, then cleared Atlantis again for liftoff at 10:29 a.m. — less than a minute before the launch window closed.
Atlantis rose on a blinding column of fire from the same pad that launched Columbia on the first shuttle flight, a rippling roar emanating from its main engines and boosters as hundreds of thousands of spectators cheered.
“I got more choked up than I thought I would,” said Garrett Reisman, a former astronaut and current SpaceX employee after watching the launch.
Eight and a half minutes later, the crew was safely in orbit. It is expected to dock with the International Space Station at about 11 a.m. Sunday.
A few moments after the launch, Jaap Meijers, 34, who traveled from the Netherlands to participate in NASA’s launch TweetUp, was sweaty, red in the face and still trying to grasp what he saw.
“I was shaking I was so nervous,” Meijers said. “I was trying to decide do I take pictures or do I just watch it? There will never be a chance like this again. It was amazing.”
During a mission likely to be extended from 12 to 13 days, the crew will deliver more than 8,000 pounds of food, supplies and spare parts.
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