40,000 watch as Atlantis lifts off for final voyage

SPACE shuttle Atlantis has lifted off on its final voyage, carrying an experienced crew of six and a full shipment of space station gear.

Atlantis sped through a clear afternoon sky above Cape Canaveral in Florida, blazing a trail over the Atlantic before huge crowds.

Its destination is the International Space Station, which was soaring over the South Pacific at the time of lift-off. The shuttle should catch up with the orbiting complex and its six residents on Sunday.