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

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. (More space shuttle stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X