Ankitesh Unleashes.....

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Space shuttle Atlantis, delayed almost to the last second by a computer glitch, left the launch pad here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and made its way into the history books.

After 135 flights in 30 years, it was the last space shuttle launch ever. And it was a spectacular sight to the estimated one million people who crowded around the space center to see it happen. The shuttle rose on a streak of flame that was almost blinding to see, going higher and higher and higher. Within a minute it punched a hole in the clouds above it and disappeared from sight, leaving a pillar of steam that slowly dissipated in Florida's muggy air.

"We got to witness something really, really special and something amazing," said William H. Gerstenmaier, head of NASA's space operations.

But it may be the last time America launches its own astronauts for many years. At the Kennedy Space Center, throngs of people applauded, cheered -- and in some cases wept. This part of Florida has lived in large part for space shuttle launches, and there is not a clear plan for what comes next.


Atlantis' launch – a dramatic spectacle in any event – became a nail-biter as well. Controllers had less than five minutes in which to get it off the pad while its target, theInternational Space Station, was orbiting overhead. Clouds, which had loomed over the area all morning, parted just in time, and the countdown clock went into its final moments. But with just 31 seconds to go before liftoff – it suddenly stopped.

The problem turned out to be small: a sensor had failed to confirm that an access arm on the shuttle's gantry had safely retracted. Controllers solved the problem by going relatively low-tech: they looked at the arm through a television camera on the launch pad. But three tense minutes passed while controllers satisfied themselves there was no actual danger. If the wait had been longer, it would have forced an expensive two-day launch delay.

"I think we launched with 58 seconds left," said Mike Leinbach, the launch director. "That's an eternity as far as I'm concerned."

Atlantis is now on its way to a final rendezvous with the space station, scheduled for midday Sunday. Its mission sounds fairly mundane: it is carrying a year's worth of preserved food, clothing spare parts and other supplies for the station's six crew members. It is scheduled to land on July 20 at 7:06 a.m., ET.

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