Space Shuttle Atlantis has launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the final shuttle launch for NASA.

STS-135 marks the final flight for the shuttle program, 30 years after Columbia touched the sky during STS-1.

Meteorological reports for the launch looked doubtful at first, but a gap in the bad weather at just the right time allowed everything to proceed as planned. Atlantis successfully reached its preliminary orbit in what a NASA official called a flawless launch.

The following are photos:

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Latest pictures of Atlantis space shuttle launch.
Spectators applaud as they watch from a pier in Titusville, Florida, the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis as it blasts off from Pad 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida July 8, 2011. The 12-day mission to the International Space station is the last planned for the Space Shuttle Program. Reuters
Spectators gather to watch Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 take off near the Visitors Center at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
Spectators gather to watch the Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 take off near the Visitors Center at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida July 8, 2011. Reuters
The space shuttle Atlantis STS-135 lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
The space shuttle Atlantis STS-135 lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 8, 2011. The 12-day mission to the International Space Station is the last mission in the Space Shuttle Program. Reuters
Latest pictures of Atlantis space shuttle launch.
Vapor forms after the space shuttle Atlantis STS-135 lifted off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 8, 2011. The 12-day mission to the International Space Station is the last mission in the Space Shuttle program. Reuters
Latest pictures of Atlantis space shuttle launch.
The space shuttle Atlantis STS-135 lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 8, 2011. The 12-day mission to the International Space Station is the last mission in the Space Shuttle program. Reuters
Latest pictures of Atlantis space shuttle launch.
The space shuttle Atlantis STS-135 lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 8, 2011. The 12-day mission to the International Space Station is the last mission in the Space Shuttle program. Reuters
Latest pictures of Atlantis space shuttle launch.
Space Shuttle Atlantis is seen through the window of a Shuttle Training Aircraft as it launches from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center July 8, 2011. Atlantis rocketed off its seaside launch pad on Friday, rising atop a tower of smoke and flames as it left Earth on the shuttle program's final flight. Reuters
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