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Up to 1M Gather for Final Shuttle Launch

A 50-mile traffic jam is expected

By Mark Russell, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 8, 2011 3:59 AM CDT | Updated Jul 8, 2011 6:53 AM CDT

(Newser) – Up to 1 million people are converging on Cape Canaveral to see the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, surprising many with such a level of interest in the 30-year-old space program. A 50-mile traffic jam from the Kennedy Space Center to Orlando is expected today, despite the 70% chance that bad weather will delay the last-ever space shuttle launch. "I always wanted to see one in person, and now I got my chance," a 72-year-old retired Air Force sergeant who drove down from Kentucky tells the Los Angeles Times.

With budget hotel rooms going for $299 per night and souvenir shops packed with shoppers, space enthusiasts say the government has seriously underestimated public support for the space program. "There is no other government activity where 1 million people come to watch," astronaut Chris Hadfield says. "That's a benchmark measure of how people view this." NASA says that if the shuttle can't be launched by Monday, it will have to wait until July 16.

The space shuttle Atlantis on Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Getty Images)

Space Shuttle Atlantis is seen on the pad at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. yesterday. (AP Photo/Stan Honda, Pool)

A visitor from Houston writes a message on a poster that reads, 'Best Wishes Atlantis,' at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex . (Getty Images)

Kelleen Stewart signs a poster that reads, 'Best Wishes Atlantis,' at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Getty Images)

Space shuttle Atlantis at the launch pad yesterday at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis is set to liftoff today on the final flight of the shuttle program, a 12-day mission to the International... (AP Photo/NASA - Bill Ingalls)

The rotating service structure rolls away from Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Stan Honda, Pool)

The Atlantis sits on Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Getty Images)

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Up to 1M Gather for Final Shuttle Launch

A 50-mile traffic jam is expected

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