Last shuttle boldly goes into retirement
Defying forecasts of poor weather conditions - and a last-minute hitch that halted the countdown with just 31 seconds left on the clock and left millions holding their breath while it was resolved - Nasa's iconic spacecraft lifted off the launchpad and into history books.
Carrying four crew on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station, its flight represents the final chapter in a story that began in 1981 with the maiden mission of Columbia. In the past 30 years, the shuttle fleet has flown 537 billion miles, circling the Earth nearly 21,000 times.
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