Space shuttle Atlantis thundered away on its final voyage to orbit Friday, hoisting an experienced crew of six and a full shipment of space station gear.
The space shuttle Atlantis sits poised on launch pad 39-A Thursday, May 13, 2010, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis is planned for Friday afternoon. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (AP)
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Atlantis sped through a perfectly clear afternoon sky, blazing a trail over the Atlantic before huge crowds eager to catch one of the few remaining shuttle launches. More than 40,000 guests — the biggest launch-day crowd in years — packed the Kennedy Space Center.
The shuttle's destination is the International Space Station, which was soaring over the South Pacific at the time of liftoff. The shuttle should catch up with the orbiting complex and its six residents Sunday morning.
A piece of orbiting junk, however, was threatening to come too close to the space station. If necessary, Mission Control will order up a maneuver so the station can dodge the debris the night before Atlantis' arrival. The docking will not be delayed, even if the station has to move out of the way of the unidentified piece, NASA officials said.
"Good luck, godspeed and have a little fun up there," launch director Mike Leinbach told the astronauts just before liftoff. He said he was speaking on behalf of all those who have worked on Atlantis since construction began in 1980.
"Like you said, there are thousands of folks out there who have taken care of this bird for a long time," replied commander Kenneth Ham. "We're going to take her on her 32nd flight, and if you don't mind, we'll take her out of the barn and make a few more laps around the planet."
The astronauts — all repeat space fliers and all men — couldn't resist a little humor before they got down to business. They showed up for their steak and cheeseburger breakfast wearing blue and black smoking jackets, white shirts and black bow ties.
This 12-day mission is the last one planned for Atlantis, the fourth in NASA's line of space shuttles. Only two flights remain after this one, by Discovery and Endeavour. NASA plans to end the 30-year program by the end of this year.
The  ''Atlantis'' blasted off earlier today for its final mission.
The  '''' launched today for its final planned mission in space, .

''Atlantis'' lifted off in fair weather at 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 UTC) from the  in , Florida. The launch was viewed by over 40,000 spectators at Kennedy, including a small group chosen by NASA for a space "tweetup". Carrying six veteran astronauts and an assortment of parts for the International Space Station (ISS), the shuttle took off without any delays. This mission, scheduled to take twelve days, is the aging shuttle's 32nd voyage into space of its 25-year career.

While no damage to the shuttle was seen, a piece of  near the ISS caused minor concern (but no delays). The shuttle is expected to dock at the ISS early Sunday morning, and the crew will perform maintenance work on the ISS next week. If everything proceeds without incident, ''Atlantis'' will leave the ISS on May 23 and land on May 26.

This flight also marks the third-to-last mission of NASA's , which is being retired this year. However, ''Atlantis'' will still be maintained as an emergency rescue shuttle for the final Space Shuttle mission, and while NASA could also use ''Atlantis'' to resupply the ISS, it has not yet made a final decision regarding the plan.