Atlantis readies for final shuttle launch

Despite a good chance of thunderstorms, Atlantis is fueled up and ready to blast off this morning in the final mission of America's 30-year space shuttle program.

The very last launch for a space shuttle is set for 11:26 a.m. ET.

The crew donned their orange suits and departed for launch pad 39A at 7:36 a.m.

Thousands of people, among them those who came to Kennedy Space Center three decades ago for the very first launch, gathered to watch. Almost a million are expected to be on hand to witness the historic event.

But it's summer in Florida and the weather remains a wild card. Violent storms yesterday prompted NASA teams to carry out checks on the Atlantis. NASA said the shuttle escaped damage from two lightning strikes.

One bolt emanating from a severe thunderstorm struck a water tower 515 feet from the pad; the second struck the beach nearby, the space agency said in a statement.

Showers are on the radar again today, but breaks in the clouds heightened hopes for today's launch.

"We have a shot at this today," NASA launch director Mike Leinbach said after a weather briefing, according to a tweet from NASA.

The final mission will take four astronauts, all of them shuttle veterans, into space for 12 days where they will deliver supplies to the international space station.

"I don't think we'll see another vehicle like it, for decades perhaps," Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson recently told CNN. "I mean, just the technology involved in flying back from space. It's an amazing vehicle, and its legacy will live on."

UPDATE: Launch video below.

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