CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA is getting hit up for extra launch passes, and mission stickers and pins are flying off the shelf. Another Twittering crowd is descending on the space center. Even science fiction writers want in on the action.
Welcome to space shuttle Atlantis' 32nd and final voyage.
When Atlantis blasts off — show time is 2:20 p.m. Friday — only two more missions will remain before the shuttle program ends.
Besides equipment for the International Space Station, Atlantis holds two big tool bins that are crammed full of shuttle and station memorabilia: flags, medallions, bookmarks and the like.
Three miles from the pad, the firing room where launch controllers will give one final "go" is decorated with photos of Atlantis launching, flying in space and landing over the past 25 years. The collage includes patches from each mission, including the last, which depicts Atlantis sailing into the sunset.
