Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on final mission
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off for the final time on Friday from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The 12-day mission will close out the space shuttle program, which began with the launch of Columbia in 1981. Atlantis will join Discovery and Endeavour in retirement, so NASA can focus on sending astronauts to asteroids and Mars. Private companies will take over the business of getting space station cargo and crews to orbit.
