Atlantis crew prepares for 'strong' finish

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 1 (UPI) -- Astronauts and managers of the last mission of NASA's space shuttle program say they're focused on a strong finish and positive legacy for the U.S. program.

"What I see with the core shuttle team now is just an extreme determination to make sure that it goes well and we end up right," Shuttle Program Manager John Shannon said Thursday in Houston.

The launch of shuttle Atlantis on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station is set for 11:26 a.m. EDT July 8, USA Today reported.

"It sounds so final," mission Cmdr. Chris Ferguson, a veteran of two missions, said. "I don't think we want any more time, though. We're ready. We're trained. We want to go do it and we want to go do it on time."

Atlantis will deliver nearly 10,000 pounds of supplies -- almost a third of it food -- and equipment that should keep the ISS supplied through next year.

"It is carrying up critical supplies," Mike Suffredini, the station program manager, said. "We've got the (cargo module) as full as we've ever had it."

After the Atlantis mission, about 3,200 of the remaining 5,500 shuttle contractors are set to be laid off, including about 1,800 United Space Alliance employees at the Kennedy Space Center.

"This is to honor all those folks that have worked on the shuttle for so many years, and we just want to do the best job possible to complete the program that way," Atlantis pilot Doug Hurley said.