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.
Atlantis carried two new voyagers into space: a pair of iPhone 4 on Friday.
The new SpaceLab app for iOS was developed by Odyssey Space Research, which is en route to the International Space Station aboard the Atlantis.
The app includes the three-axis gyro, accelerometer, Retina display, cameras, and A4 processor.
“The revolutionary iPhone 4 offers an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate serious functions previously reserved for more expensive, purpose-built devices,” Odyssey CEO Brian Rishikof said in a press release.
“The potential for using iPhone 4 to both conduct and support in-space research and operations is enormous,” Rishikof added.
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.ReutersThe 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.ReutersThe 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.ReutersThe 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.ReutersThe 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.ReutersThe 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.ReutersThe 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 programReuters
