May 14, 2010 - Kennedy Space Center. The space shuttle Atlantis launched majestically into space Friday on its final planned orbital trek before NASA retires the reusable space plane and its two sister ships for good. Atlantis soared into clear skies from Launch Pad 39A here at Kennedy Space Center at 2:20 pm EDT (1820 GMT). Commander Kenneth Ham is leading Atlantis' crew of six veteran astronauts on a 12-day sojourn to the International Space Station. After this flight there are only two space shuttle missions left before the orbiters are retired and sent to museums around the country. This is Atlantis' 32nd journey to space, and the 132nd space shuttle mission since the fleet began flying in April 1981. On a lark,sts-132 space shuttle atlantis final launch iss international station rassvyet mrm- the final crew of Atlantis took a break to pose for a photo in matching tuxedos with bow-ties before suiting up in their orange launch-and-entry suits Friday morning. There was some last-minute drama over a tiny ball bearing found in Atlantis' cargo bay earlier this week. Mission managers wanted to make sure the metal BB wasn't a sign of loose hardware in the shuttle's cargo bay. In the end, it was no concern and Atlantis blasted off as planned.