NASA’s final space shuttle mission begins

July 8, 2011 – Cape Canaveral, Florida — Space shuttle Atlantis is en route to the International Space Station after launching from Kennedy Space Center late this morning and beginning the final mission of NASA’s space shuttle program. CBS News reported that Kennedy Space Center was packed with tens of thousands of shuttle workers, astronauts, and invited guests for the final flight. Up to a million spectators gathered across coastal Florida - some camping overnight - to watch the launch and be a part of U.S. space history. NASA's original shuttle pilot, Robert Crippen, now 73, was among the VIPs. He flew Columbia, along with Apollo 16 moonwalker John Young, on the inaugural test flight in 1981. According to CBS, other notables on the guest list included a dozen members of Congress, Cabinet members, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, four Kennedy family members, singers Jimmy Buffett and Gloria Estefan, and two former NASA chiefs. "With today's final launch of the space shuttle 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," Administrator Charles Bolden said. "Tomorrow's destinations will inspire new generations of explorers, and the shuttle pioneers have made the next chapter of human spaceflight possible." The STS-135 crew consists of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. They will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module filled with more than 8,000 pounds of supplies and spare parts to sustain space station operations after the shuttles are retired. But that’s not all they are carrying. The crew is taking the first iPhone into space to help with experiments aboard the orbiting outpost. Odyssey Space Research developed an application for the Apple smartphone that is meant to help the astronauts track their scientific results and perhaps one day aid navigation. Along with the first iPhone, the crew of Atlantis is bringing along numerous items commemorating the final shuttle mission. For instance, a flag from the first shuttle flight in 1981 will be carried to the station and left there until the first commercial spaceflight to the station, when NASA astronauts will retrieve it. In addition, the U.S. Honor Flag is flying aboard Atlantis. Begun as a tribute following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the American flag serves as a traveling memorial to heroes who lost their lives while serving their communities and country. However, some more unusual things are also headed to space. They include: § A recipe card from one of the dishes served at Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA's Kennedy Space Center § A NASCAR cap from Joe Gibbs Racing and black NASCAR flags from Texas Motor Speedway § More than 500 STS-135 mission patches and 800 small American flags that typically are handed out after a mission as awards and recognitions. Food scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have also prepared an “All-American Meal” for the space shuttle crew as the American spacecraft makes its last voyage. The public is invited to prepare the meal on Earth and share it virtually with the astronauts aboard Atlantis on July 14. The crew’s American menu begins with crackers, brie cheese, and sausage. The entrée features grilled chicken, Southwestern corn, and baked beans. The meal concludes with, naturally, apple pie. Click here for the recipes. Atlantis is scheduled to dock to the station on Sunday. NASA TV is providing continuous coverage of the mission. In addition, live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout the mission and landing. "The shuttle's always going to be a reflection to what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and commits to follow through," Ferguson said shortly before liftoff. "We're not ending the journey today…we're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end."

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off the launch pad for the final space shuttle mission. Image credit: NASA TV People cheer as space shuttle Atlantis rises in the sky for the final launch of the space shuttle program. Thousands watched the launch from the NASA Causeway at Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: UPI / Pat Benic The space shuttle Atlantis astronauts, from left, Mission Specialists Rex Walheim, Sandy Magnus, Pilot Doug Hurley and Commander Chris Ferguson, leave the operations and check-out building on the way to the pad at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: Terry Renna/AP

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