Final NASA Shuttle Launch

Let's light her up one last time! Atlantis overcomes a shaky launch to become the final Nasa shuttle to blast into space

• One million spectators cram into Cape Canaveral and surrounding towns to watch the last launch of an American icon
• Nervy moments as blast-off delayed 0.31 seconds from ignition due to launch pad problem
  
• 'Let's light this fire one more time', says Commander Christopher Ferguson as he fires the engines
• Spectators include former astronauts, Congressmen and celebrities
  

By Daily Mail Reporter/Science And Tech

Last updated at 5:54 PM on 9th July 2011

The space shuttle Atlantis thundered into orbit today, writing the final chapter in a 30-year story of triumphs, tragedy and, ultimately, unfulfilled expectations.

A million-strong crowd crammed into Cape Canaveral surrounding towns to bid an emotional farewell to the shuttle as they watched it lift off on its 135th and final mission.

They lined causeways and beaches around the central Florida site, angling for a last glimpse of the pioneering ship that has defined the U.S. space program for the past 30 years.

While there were nervy moments as the countdown stalled for two minutes at 31 seconds while engineers fixed a problem with launch pad equipment - nothing  could stop the historic lift off.

'Good luck to you and your crew on this final flight of this true American icon,' shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach radioed to the crew minutes before takeoff, adding: 'Have a little fun up there.'

Scroll down for video and a history of the Nasa shuttle programme

It will be at least three years - possibly five or more - before astronauts launch again from U.S. soil, and so this final journey of the shuttle era packed in crowds and roused emotions on a scale not seen since the Apollo moon shots. After days of gloomy forecasts full of rain and heavy cloud cover, the spaceship lifted off at 11.29am local time (16.29 GMT) - just two minutes late - thundering away on the 135th shuttle mission 30 years and three months after the very first flight. The four experienced space fliers rode Atlantis from the same pad used more than a generation ago by the Apollo astronauts. The shuttle was visible for 42 seconds before disappearing into the clouds. Nasa waived its own weather rules to allow the lift-off to go forward. In the end, though, the countdown was delayed not by the weather but by the need to make certain the launch pad support equipment was retracted all the way. The crew will deliver a year's worth of critical supplies to the International Space Station and return with as much rubbish as possible.

One last hurrah: Atlantis blasts off for the International Space Station on Nasa's last space shuttle mission

Up, up and away: The shuttle almost didn't get off the ground though, as the giant countdown clock at Kennedy Space Center stuck at 0.31seconds for what seemed like an eternity

Just as the spectators at Cape Canaveral in Florida and tens of millions of television viewers around the world had given up hope, Atlantis began to rise

Commander Christopher Ferguson marked the occasion by announcing 'Let's light this fire one more time' minutes before he blasted into orbit.

'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 added.

It will be at least three years – possibly five or more – before astronauts are launched again from U.S. soil, and so this final journey of the shuttle era packed in crowds and roused emotions on a scale not seen since the Apollo moon shots.

Nasa has set a long-term goal of  flying to an asteroid and eventually Mars. 'Enjoy a little time here with your families again. But we've got a lot of work to do. We've got another programme that we've got to get under way,' Nasa administrator Charles Bolden told the launch control team after Atlantis reached orbit.

He added: 'We know what we're doing. We know how to get there. We've just got to convince everybody else that we know what we're doing.'

Atlantis's crew will deliver a year's worth of critical supplies to the International Space Station and return with as much trash as possible. The shuttle is scheduled to come home on July 20 after 12 days in orbit.

When Atlantis returns to Earth for the final time, it will be placed in a museum with the other two shuttles.

As it lifted off, Mr Boden said: 'The space shuttle spreads its wings one final time for the start of a sentimental journey into history. We turn the page on a remarkable period in America's history in space, while beginning the next chapter in our nation's extraordinary story of exploration.'

Those watching from Cape Canaveral and surrounding towns included Nasa's original shuttle pilot, Robert Crippen, now 73. He flew Columbia, along with Apollo 16 moon-walker John Young, on the test flight in 1981.

Off to the ISS: The shuttle was visible for 42 seconds before disappearing into the clouds

The final countdown: The shuttle lifts off as hundreds of fans watch a giant clock countdown with 13 seconds to go

Best view in the house: Some of an estimated one million spectators watch the launch

Emotional: Kennedy Space Centre employee Lisa Gorichky, cries as the shuttle lifts off while children watch from a nearby park

Fond farewell: The blast-off marks the beginning of the end for Nasa's shuttle programme

Soaring high: Thousands gather in the surf and on sand at Cocoa Beach, Florida to watch the shuttle pierce the clouds