Watch The Final Space Shuttle Launch (LIVE VIDEO)

The space shuttle Atlantis is shown on launch pad 39A after the Rotating Service Structure was rolled back at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Reuters

The space shuttle era is coming to a close with today's launch of Atlantis.

We have our own live coverage of the event going on here but if you also want to watch the shuttle as it happens you can check it out below.

Weather was expected to play a role in the final launch of Atlantis with NASA predicting 30 percent chance of favorable weather. However, the storm clouds have held off for now and NASA is going ahead with the launch.

STS-135 will be a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis will carry a crew of four and the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station. The STS-135 astronauts are: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. The astronauts have acknowledged how special it is to be on the final space shuttle mission.

The Space Shuttle Program has been amazing, what it's done, all the great accomplishments, and you just don't want to let that momentum down, and so there is a lot of pressure to do your job right and to, and like I say, to finish strong, said Walheim.

Following the mission, the three space shuttles and a prototype will find their way to museums across the country. The space shuttle program will be over but NASA is adamant its not ending its manned space exploration missions. The agency is looking to bring a man to Mars by the 2030s and to an asteroid in the 2020s. It will be working with private companies to build and operate the space ships.

Streaming by Ustream

NASA NASA NASA Space