http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle en-us
And on behalf of the entire Kennedy Space Center Web coverage team, thanks so much for joining us today for this final launch of the Space Shuttle Program. After 30 years of adventure and excitement, the shuttle proved once again it can surprise and thrill.

As a very small part of the team that supports the shuttle program, it's been our privilege to bring you details of the countdowns and liftoffs of these exciting missions. We hope you've enjoyed the coverage and that you will join us again for Atlantis' return to Earth in about two weeks. After that, we will continue to cover in detail the launches of missions to the moon and the planets of our solar system as NASA continues to explore the unknown.

And now for the last time, from Firing Room 3 at Kennedy's Launch Control Center, this concludes NASA's Space Shuttle Launch Blog.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:50:40 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:38:06 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:35:37 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:34:26 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:33:30 GMT
"Atlantis is flexing its muscles one final time," said Ascent Commentator Rob Navias from the Mission Control Center in Houston.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:31:26 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:30:01 GMT
Once Atlantis clears the tower, the flight control team takes charge, led by Flight Director Richard Jones. Astronaut Barry Wilmore is today's ascent capcom, or spacecraft communicator, meaning he'll stay in contact with Commander Chris Ferguson over an air-to-ground channel throughout the trip to orbit.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:29:09 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:25:48 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:24:50 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:23:22 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:22:12 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:21:08 GMT
"On behalf of the KSC launch team past and present, we salute the entire astronaut corps," said Wyrick. "Have a good mission, and Godspeed."]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:20:10 GMT
No planned holds are left in the final countdown of the Space Shuttle Program.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:17:50 GMT
"And Fergie, for the final time... good luck, Godspeed and have a little fun up there," he said to Commander Chris Ferguson.

Clocks will resume at 11:17:46 a.m. EDT and count down the remaining nine minutes to launch at 11:26:46 a.m.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:16:54 GMT
Just a few of the vehicle's most noteworthy missions were the first docking with the Russian Mir space station on STS-71 in June 1995; delivery of the Destiny laboratory to the space station on STS-98 in February 2001; the first launch with a camera mounted to the external tank, which captured the shuttle's ascent to orbit on STS-112 in October 2002; and the final servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on STS-125 in May 2009.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:04:03 GMT
"We are cautiously optimistic we will be 'go' for launch at 11:26 a.m.," said NASA Launch Commentator George Diller.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:48:28 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:33:17 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:27:46 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:21:03 GMT
"On behalf of all who have designed and built, serviced and loaded, launched and controlled, operated and flown these magnificent space vehicles... Thank you for 30 years with our nation's space shuttles! Godspeed Atlantis! God bless America!"

And after some final words from Closeout Crew Chief Travis Thompson, the team departed the pad.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:20:04 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:11:12 GMT
The inflatable dock seals between the White Room and the orbiter have been deflated, so the two are no longer connected.

Our next planned hold is coming up in about a minute.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:09:36 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:03:29 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:58:42 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:31:08 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:29:17 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:21:25 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:15:23 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:04:57 GMT
Walheim pointed out the importance of finishing strong with a successful STS-135 mission.

"The Space Shuttle Program has been amazing, what it's done, all the great accomplishments, and you just don't want to let that momentum down, and so there is a lot of pressure to do your job right and to, and like I say, to finish strong," he said.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:44:53 GMT
"It's a very busy mission. Our prime job is to take tons of logistics up to space station and get it up there while we still have the huge cargo-carrying capacity of the shuttle available," she said during her preflight interview. "In addition, we're tasked with bringing down the pump module which failed late last year, because it failed a little bit earlier than expected and we need to dissect it and learn from it what happened and how to improve our engineering designs. Those are the primary mission parameters that we're working with."]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:30:05 GMT
"The pictures that I've seen out of the cupola have been unbelievable and, and having been in space before and looking out a window, there's no camera that can capture that vividness, just the stunning views that you see out the window," Hurley said recently. "So, with the cupola having unobstructed views of the planet and the space station, that is probably what I'm looking forward to the most."]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:17:08 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:12:53 GMT
"We have done fantastic things in space," Ferguson said. "We've brought the globe together in space in the form of the International Space Station, where we formerly had these conglomerates in Russia and Europe, Japan, the United States, that had their independent space programs, but we've managed to bring them all together so we speak a common language. The interfaces all work together. We all did that because we agreed to cooperate internationally on the space station."]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:05:10 GMT
Since each astronaut has to put on some last-minute gear, such as a parachute harness and communications headset, the timeline allows up to 50 minutes for the astronauts to climb aboard and strap in. Once they're seated, they'll start a round of comm checks to ensure they can talk to each other, the launch team here at Kennedy and the flight control team at Johnson Space Center.

Incidentally, since there are only four astronauts on this final space shuttle crew, all four are riding to and from orbit on Atlantis' flight deck, with no one on the middeck below.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:54:59 GMT
The five space shuttle orbiters -- Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- have flown 537,114,016 miles so far, and STS-135 is expected to add more than four million miles to that total. The shuttles have docked to two space stations: the Russian Mir space station and the International Space Station. Between 1994 and 1998, nine missions flew to Mir; with STS-135, 37 shuttle missions will have flown to the International Space Station.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:49:20 GMT
"We have a shot at this one today," Leinbach told launch controllers.

The countdown clock is ticking and the astronauts are on their way to the launch pad.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:48:06 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:40:31 GMT
The Astrovan will take the astronauts past the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Control Center and News Center on the ride to the pad.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:36:45 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:31:05 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:21:12 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:16:15 GMT Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:10:05 GMT
They began their day with a 4:30 a.m. wakeup inside their rooms at Astronaut Crew Quarters, in Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building. Soon, they'll head into the suit-up room and get dressed for flight before heading downstairs to the Astrovan for the trip to Launch Pad 39A.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:00:45 GMT
"This flight is incredibly important," said Bill Gerstenmaier, assistant administrator for Space Operations. "The cargo that is coming up on this flight is really mandatory for space station."

Also flying on Atlantis is an experimental refueling station called the Robotic Refueling Mission, or RRM. And at the end of the mission, Atlantis and the STS-135 crew will bring home an ISS ammonia pump so engineers on the ground can learn why it failed and how to prevent similar failures in the future.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:50:53 GMT
At the same time, the Closeout Crew is preparing Atlantis' cockpit, seats, communications and side hatch for the astronauts to arrive and begin strapping in. This team is composed of NASA and contractor personnel from Kennedy and Johnson Space Center in Houston. Astronaut Randy Bresnik is part of the Closeout Crew as the prime astronaut support person, or ASP.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:44:40 GMT
Tanking concluded just a few minutes ahead of schedule at 4:28 a.m. and the tank entered stable replenish, meaning it will be topped off continually until the end of the countdown, in order to replace the small amount that evaporates as it warms.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:38:42 GMT
That is, if the weather cooperates. Shuttle Launch Weather Officer Kathy Winters predicts a 70 percent chance of unfavorable conditions for launch, including showers and thunderstorms within 20 nautical miles of the Shuttle Landing Facility, flight through precipitation and cumulus clouds. Any of these would keep Atlantis grounded today.

Next door in Firing Room 4, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach leads the team of launch controllers as the countdown milestones pass for what may be the last time. The countdown clock is holding at T-3 hours, with another hour remaining in this built-in hold. There's more to come, so stay with us.]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:29:53 GMT Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:44:28 GMT