Atlantis begins 'journey into history'. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (by Horacio Cambeiro) - T' space shuttle Atlantis cleared t' tower o' t' Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A for t' last time Friday, endin' t' 30-year history o' America's first renewable spaceship. Ahoy! "And for t' final time ... Avast! Good luck, God speed and have a little fun up there," Launch Director Mike D. Leinbach told t' crew o' STS-135 moments before launch. Blimey! T' final mission o' t' shuttle, me hearties, STS-135, and its crew o' four are en route t' t' International Space Station, deliverin' t' module filled with supplies and spare parts t' sustain station operations in t' shuttle's absence. Ahoy! Recent weather nearly stalled Atlantis' final launch as rain drenched t' space coast. Blimey! A lightnin' strike 515 feet from t' pad delayed final inspections, but t' orbiter was later cleared. After a cloudy start Friday morning, t' weather cleared minutes before launch, givin' t' needed window t' send t' orbiter on her final voyage. Aye aye! At about 31 seconds t' launch, however, a minor failure stalled t' launch for a short time, but t' countdown be resumed. With t' shuttle's departure, arrr, NASA looks towards a new future o' space exploration beyond t' shuttle's limit t' lower Earth orbit. It has been almost 40 years since men left Earth's orbit on t' last lunar mission on t' shuttle's predecessor, t' behemoth Saturn V. Begad! "Once again, arrr, we have t' opportunity t' raise t' bar, t' demonstrate what human beings can do if we are ...