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Atlantis Lifts Off on Last Shuttle Flight July 8, 2011 | WMFE Space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Kennedy Space Center Friday at 11:29 a.m., blasting through a low cloud cover that had threatened the final flight of NASA's 30-year shuttle program. The morning's cloudy weather prompted NASA to give a 70% chance the shuttle would not launch, but the weather cleared just in time. In the end, it was an electronic glitch delayed the launch by three minutes. Hundreds of thousands of spectators jammed roads leading to the Space Coast, thrilled to see the icon of American space exploration lift off for the last time. The shuttle will ferry supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station during its 12-day mission. Four astronauts are aboard Atlantis. The shuttle program's retirement heralds a new era for NASA. The space agency aims to reach farther into space, toward the moon and Mars. How NASA will get there remains unclear.
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