Posted: Fri, Jul 8, 2011, 2:08 PM ET (1808 GMT)
The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off Friday morning on the 135th and final mission of the 30-year program. Atlantis lifted off on mission STS-135 at 11:29 am EDT (1529 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The countdown was halted at the T-31 second mark for about two and a half minutes in order to ensure that the the gaseous oxygen vent arm had fully retracted. Earlier in the day it appeared weather would prevent a launch attempt, but skies cleared enough to permit a launch. Atlantis is on a 12-day mission to eliver supplies to the International Space Station. It is currently scheduled to land, and thus close out the shuttle program, on the morning of July 20.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Aviation Week article
•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  AP article
•  Reuters article