Atlantis begins 'journey into history'. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (by Horacio Cambeiro) - The space shuttle Atlantis cleared the tower of the Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A for the last time Friday, ending the 30-year history of America's first renewable spaceship. "And for the final time ... Good luck, God speed and have a little fun up there," Launch Director Mike D. Leinbach told the crew of STS-135 moments before launch. The final mission of the shuttle, STS-135, and its crew of four are en route to the International Space Station, delivering the module filled with supplies and spare parts to sustain station operations in the shuttle's absence. Recent weather nearly stalled Atlantis' final launch as rain drenched the space coast. A lightning strike 515 feet from the pad delayed final inspections, but the orbiter was later cleared. After a cloudy start Friday morning, the weather cleared minutes before launch, giving the needed window to send the orbiter on her final voyage. At about 31 seconds to launch, however, a minor failure stalled the launch for a short time, but the countdown was resumed. With the shuttle's departure, NASA looks towards a new future of space exploration beyond the shuttle's limit to lower Earth orbit. It has been almost 40 years since men left Earth's orbit on the last lunar mission on the shuttle's predecessor, the behemoth Saturn V. "Once again, we have the opportunity to raise the bar, to demonstrate what human beings can do if we are ...