Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) blasts off at 11:29am from Kennedy Space Center on it's final mission.

The July 8th launch was very much in jeopardy up until the final hour before launch, but then the weather started to clear. That wasn't the only excitement, however. The countdown was briefly stopped at the T-Minus 0:31 second mark as there was some indication that the gaseous oxygen vent arm wasn't fully retracted. Subsequent checks showed it was fine and the launch proceeded.

STS-135 is the 135th shuttle flight and the 33rd flight for Atlantis.

Shuttle photos taken some 15 miles away in Cape Canaveral.