CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson and his three
crewmates are on their way to the International Space Station after launching
from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:29 a.m. EDT Friday. STS-135 is the final
mission of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program.

“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 Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, 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.

“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.”

The mission includes flying the Robotic Refueling Mission, an
experiment designed to demonstrate and test the tools, technologies and
techniques needed for robotic refueling of satellites in space, even satellites
not designed for servicing. The crew also will return with an ammonia pump that
recently failed on the station. Engineers want to understand why the pump failed
and improve designs for future spacecraft.

Atlantis is on a 12-day
mission and scheduled to dock to the station at 11:06 a.m. on Sunday.

STS-135 is the 135th shuttle flight, the 33rd flight for Atlantis and
the 37th shuttle mission dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.

Source and photo: NASA