Atlantis space shuttle left for last mission

CAPE CANAVERAL: Atlantis space shuttle was successfully launched to take its last journey into the space.

TV images showed the shuttle blasting off into the sky on its last ever mission of the 30-year-old American space shuttle program.

Minutes before the launch, the NASA control center determined that there were no technical issues and the weather was a "go" at Cape Canaveral, Florida, despite earlier gloomy forecasts