NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour punched through a veil of clouds this morning, making its 25th and final ascent into space after technicians quickly repaired damage to its heat shield.

“This is a both a sad and proud moment for your launch team and America,” a Mission Control team member at Kennedy Space Center in Florida told the crew of seven shortly before launch at 8:56am EDT.

Commanding the orbiter’s final mission, called STS-134, is astronaut Mark Kelley — husband of U.S. representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona), who is still recovering from a failed Jan. 8, 2011 assassination att...