NASA preps for last shuttle launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, The four crew members are on board the space shuttle Atlantis, but that doesn‚Äôt mean they‚Äôll be going anywhere today. Forecasters still say there‚Äôs a 70 percent chance of bad weather for the late-morning launch. 
Mission managers acknowledged it might seem foolish to proceed with fueling, given the dismal forecast, NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. They said they would take another look at the forecast and decide whether it makes sense to keep counting down. 
The four shuttle astronauts suited up after sunrise despite the still-iffy launch prospects. 
"Have you done your rain dance for the day?" joked Aly Mendoza, the tank and booster rocket vehicle manager. 
Atlantis holds a year‚Äôs worth of supplies‚Äîmore than 8,000 pounds‚Äîfor the International Space Station. 
An estimated 750,000 people are expected to jam Cape Canaveral and surrounding towns for this final shuttle launch, reminiscent of the crowds that gathered for the Apollo moon shots. 
Among the expected VIPs: 14 members of Congress, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, four members of the Kennedy family, two former NASA administrators, singers Jimmy Buffett and Gloria Estefan, and the first shuttle pilot of them all, Robert Crippen. 
By 6 a.m., cars and RV were packed into almost every available space along U.S. 1 in Titusville, with cameras already trained on the launch pad in the hazy clouds across the Indian River. Many had planted chairs and staked out viewing locations just feet from the water. Some were still cocooned in sleeping bags as the sun rose. 
Kenneth Cox, 25, an airport employee from Danville, Ind., joined three friends at the riverside. Hauling Lucky Charms, fixings for s’mores and a bottle of champagne to celebrate the launch, they slept off and on as the sun rose.