Reblog for personal reference
Source :
bbc news
Atlantis launches from Cape Kennedy
Space shuttle - Atlantis shuttle launch
The 135th and final space shuttle mission has lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Space shuttle Atlantis was launched into history at 1129 local time (1529 GMT; 1629 BST) on Friday.
The 12-day mission will ferry 3.5 tonnes of supplies to the International Space Station.
Upon its return, the 30-year ship and 2 other will be retired to the museum.
How far has the space shuttle travelled?
Atlantis is making the 135th and final journey of the space shuttle programme, but just how far have Nasa's fleet of spacecraft travelled already, since 1981? And how does that distance compare to the size of our solar system?