Monday, November 16, 2009

Space shuttle Atlantis is rocketing toward the space station.

Atlantis blasted off Monday afternoon, carrying six astronauts and a full load of spare parts to the International Space Station. The shuttle will reach the orbiting outpost Wednesday.

The supply run should keep the space station humming for years to come, and the shuttle astronauts will be in space through Thanksgiving. The crew will perform three spacewalks during the 11-day mission.

About 100 Twittering NASA fans were on hand for the launch. They won front-row seats in a contest last month and filed Twitter updates as the countdown unfolded.

This is NASA's last shuttle flight of the year and one of only six remaining.

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The six "Atlantis" astronauts are at the launch pad for a mid-afternoon delivery flight to the International Space Station.

The crew took in applause from a large crowd of NASA workers before heading out to the shuttle. It's carrying tons of spare parts for the outpost before the shuttle program comes to an end next year.

Although skies have been clouding up a bit, forecasters put the weather odds at 70% "go" for the launch at 2:28 p-m, Eastern Time.