Space shuttle Atlantis blasted off for its final voyage Friday to take supplies to the International Space Station.

More than 40,000 people gathered at Kennedy Space Center to see the last launch. Only two flights by Discovery and Endeavour remain, as NASA prepares to end its 30-year program by the end of the year.

The six-member crew on board Atlantis is taking on a 12-day mission to deliver space station gear.

"Good luck, Godspeed and have a little fun up there," launch director Mike Leinbach told the astronauts just before liftoff.

Space shuttle Atlantis first went into orbit in 1985. Friday's launch was the shuttle's 32nd voyage.