Where to Watch the Last Space Shuttle Launch Online

08.07.2011
We're at the end of an era as the space shuttle Atlantis is set to make the final shuttle voyage to the International Space Station this weekend. NASA officials hope the launch will take off on schedule at 11:24 EDT on Friday morning but bad weather may force the launch window to roll over to Sunday.

NASA estimates that over a million people will be trekking to Cape Canaveral to see the launch this weekend--if you don't already have a ticket or are not already in Florida, you're probably out of luck. Up to 750,000 spectators are expected to watch the liftoff from the Space Coast area and the numbers may top one million. Don't worry though. There are still lots of great ways to enjoy the final launch of Atlantis from the comfort and safety of your own tech equipment.

NASA plan to show the launch live online on its stream. Live coverage will begin at 8 a.m. EDT Friday--if all goes according to plan. If you're going to be away from a TV at that time, NASA offers that will stream the launch coverage for you as well as a announced today.

Alternatively, be on the lookout for up-to-the minute coverage on Twitter by following official NASA twitter feeds. Following on Twitter probably won't be quite as a dynamic experience as the video feed, but both (@NASA) and the (@NASAKennedy) have Twitter accounts you can follow. NASA is also hosting who will get special access to the launch in Florida and who will be live-tweeting from the event. , and the hashtag is #NASATweetup.

Or you can crowd source your coverage from all the people watching the launch live. Expect a lot of action on launch-related hashtags like #shuttle or #sts135 (STS-135 is the last launch's mission number as this is the 135th, and final, shuttle launch).