we see our launch director in the background, mike leinbach. nd mike moses along with mike leinbach. there's our deputy administrator and our administrator, charlie bolden. the singing of happiness as was mixed emotions. here is the atlantis banner that was on atlantis when the hatch was closed. with rex walheim, his picture made with atlantis is banner. barred from the space alliance -- bart from the space alliance. sandy magnus. [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] >> now we're underneath atlantis. the crew is going to be going over to the landing gear and looking at the tiles. there's our administrator charlie bolden again. the pilot doug hurley. doug hurley in the red hat. [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] >> there is sandy magnus. [no sounds] [no sounds] >> and our pilot again and there in the red hat is doug hurley. >> the crew is going back to houston tomorrow afternoon, and as soon as they get back to the astronaut boards very shortly they will have a chance to have a reunion with their immediate family members.

and mike leinbach, our launch director, has just asked for another update on the weather. the astronaut's touchdown arriving from houston on monday, the fourth of july at 2:31 p.m. since that time commander chris ferguson and pilot doug hurley have been honing their landing skills in the training aircraft. a final inspection space shuttle atlantis, had a fit check with their launch in increases, a debriefing on the steps of space shuttle atlantis, and also the payload. they have been following the weather forecast very closely since they have been here, knowing that marginal weather was moving in. and then have their final medical exams and did a final review of their flight plan, and then packed their flight data files and personal effects and they were sent out to the pad to be placed aboard the middeck of atlantis. today, the crew was awakened at 4:30 a.m., had a brief checkup by the flight surgeon before having breakfast at 5:45. and as we've heard, they've had their weather briefing. the walkout from the astronaut is scheduled for 7:36 a.m., in about 20 minutes from n

mike leinbach and all of you i want to say congratulations and thank you. .. we understand the tough environment and we will work with that and watch the process goes through and be prepared to execute with what we get when we finally get an answer from congress. >> obviously i don't ask fielding questions but this time i would like to in particular i it like to get the perspective of the whole panel that the two mikes. in my view there's no other place where you see the flight control teams and a launch teams when they are on their game there's nothing like that to see them perform whether it is the launch, and i would like you to reflect on the fact no matter what follow-on program you get, this amol is never going to exist before. this is the last time you're going to see that execution in the district faults on that? >> we've grown into a very cohesive team throughout the whole program not just the flight control team but all the processing team, the designers of the mission, the payroll folks, it's a very cohesive group. i'm not sure we would never see it

searched for a window in the clouds and 12 minutes before the scheduled liftoff, shuttle director mike leinbach radioed "atlantis" commander chris ferguson that he looked good to go. >> so on behalf of the greatest team in the world, good luck to you and your crew on the final flight of this true american icon. >> one more time we can witness this great nation at its best. >> reporter: but with just 31 seconds left in the countdown, a snag. >> t-minus 31 seconds. >> and we have had a failure. >> reporter: nasa quickly cleared what essentially was a false alarm. the big clock rolled once again. >> going for main engine start. >> reporter: despite lingering concerns about potential rain and lightning-- >> liftoff, the final liftoff of "atlantis." >> "atlantis" roared toward the heavens. >> the space shuttle spreads its wings one final time for the start of a sentimental journey into history. >> reporter: rocketing into the clouds, the shuttle headed for its sunday rendezvous with the international space station, the shuttle carried 10,000 of pounds of equipment and supplies to the space station,

but, at any rate, we're going to be monitoring that and you will be able to hear what mike leinbach andeff spaulding have to say about what the strategy will be and what the directions to the launch team are. at t-minus 9 minutes and holding this is shuttle launch control. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> cifl. jrps and houston flight. perform the 15 activation. trps. >> trps. >> houston flight. >> houston flight copies. >> tlt, otc? >> go ahead. >> panel r-1, tailored switch on. >> that's a lock. >> ms-1, otc. >> ms-1, go ahead. >> activate the v-ten recorder. >> mf working. >> -- otc. >> copy. >> attention all personnel, this is the ntd conducting the launch status check. verify ready to resume count. go for launch. ootc. >> otc go. >> ttc. >> ttc go. >> lps. >> lps is go. >> houston flight. >> houston flight, if you give me, poll me at the end i would appreciate it. stand by. >> yes, sir, we'll poll you later. >> mila. >> still. >> stm. >> stm is go. >> safety console. >> safety console is go. >> spe. >> spe is go. >> lrd. >> lrd is go. >> sro. >> sro go you have a range clear to

that a chance to do that -- a chance to do that every day. >> okay. >> randall seigel for mike leinbach. mike, you got the sash from endeavour. you got the sash from discovery. did you get the one from atlantis? and did you say anything special to the team after it was all over, realizing the finality of where we're at? >> it's almost like we planted you in the audience. [laughter] >> there's atlantis. what i said to the team today -- there's been a tradition in american manned space flight that the launch director have bid the crews farewell, the astronauts farewell and launched traditionally with good luck and godspeed and the definition of godspeed that i like the best is, have a prosperous journey. and so at the end of my speech to the launch team today, i wished them from the bottom of my heart good luck and godspeed. >> okay. thank you, i have a follow-up. first for the two mikes, i know that during a launch you're fairly busy and maybe you get only a few seconds to get a look at the actual assent. i'm wondering when you did get a peek, did it shine brighter and last longer? was t

space shuttle program launch integration manager mike moses and mike leinbach. we will open up with comments from the panel and then we will be happy to take your questions. >> i want to thank the space shuttle team and program for just a tremendous effort today in the entire history of the program. i cannot say enough about the team and how great of a job they have done. we gave them a tremendous challenge to finish strong. the team accomplished every one of the objectives. they did a tremendous job. when we looked underneath the vehicle, it was one of the cleaner vehicles we have seen. the bottom of the vehicle looked excellent. it was very smooth. a tremendous amount of cargo was transferred back and forth. that would tremendously smith v. every -- tremendously. everything worked the way it should. with all the uncertainty, they stayed focused. they did what they needed to do. they delivered a quality end of the program. i want to thank the team for that. i would like to think the nation for allowing us to use the shuttle system. they stood out on the runway.