Watch the Final Space Shuttle Launch on Your iPhone or iPad

As I write this, it's about 12 hours from the last launch of the Space Shuttle program with the final mission of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135).  If everything goes as planned, the Atlantis will launch at 11:26 EDT on July 8, 2011.  But what if you are away from the television and the computer for this historic event?  What if you're sitting in an airport, relaxing on the beach, or drinking coffee at Starbucks?

There are a couple of apps that will let you watch this event.  Both apps are free and will show live streaming video from NASA TV. The first one is Ustream for iPhone. With it you will need to search for the NASA TV channel, though it should be listed on the Live tab of the app once the countdown begins.

A simpler option, the one I recommend, is to get the free NASA App for iPhone or NASA App HD for iPad. Both of these have a NASA TV button that will give you access to live streaming coverage of the launch. These apps also give you the benefit of NASA's mission news, images, videos, etc.

Whichever of these apps you choose, if you have a decent internet connection, you'll have the ability to watch history even if you're not around a television.