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After weather worries and last-minute snag, Atlantis starts finale of 30-year shuttle program
July 8, 2011

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the last time in history, a space shuttle and its crew rose heavenward from NASA's spaceport on Friday, defying gloomy weather and the deeper gloom over the end of a 30-year era of spaceflight.

Atlantis lifted off more than two minutes late, at 11:29 a.m. ET, due to a last-minute glitch involving a camera system that verifies the retraction of a gas-venting arm from the shuttle. The launch team hustled to make sure the arm was indeed out of the way for launch, then restarted the count at T-minus-31 seconds.

The countdown was also marked by weather concerns that continued nearly to the last minute. Mission managers issued a waiver just nine minutes before launch to let the count proceed despite some minor weather constraints.

Once all the last-minute worries were resolved, Atlantis streaked flawlessly into the sky on a pillar of flame and thick clouds. A cheer went up from the legions of spectators who watched the liftoff from Kennedy Space Center.

The tension of the final minutes was balanced by a sense of history. It will be at least three years before U.S. astronauts are once again sent into space on a U.S.-built spaceship. Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson captured the mood in comments made just before launch.

"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," he said. "We're not ending the journey today ... we're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end."