STS-135 is given a launch date as Atlantis takes off on the final Space Shuttle flight

Space Shuttle Atlantis will launch on July 8^th according to NASA’s Flight Readiness Review. The 12 day mission will be to deliver the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC) to the ISS.

An additional day may be granted but will be determined when the shuttle is at the station. Mission progress will determine if an additional day can be granted, and also if Atlantis is deemed capable. A disadvantage Atlantis has Discovery and Endeavour don’t is the ability to transfer power from the station to the shuttle.

Other items still need to be worked out such as a fuel tanking test and a review of the shuttle’s oxygen system. Both of which need system updates, but neither of which pose a threat to the July 8^th launch date.

In Launch Pad 39A's payload changeout room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians close space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay doors in preparation for launch. Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann 

The sun rises over the Atlantic Ocean silhouetting space shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the image taken on June 23, 2011

NASA Sets Launch Date - July 8th at 1126 EDT, 1526 UTC