ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- The last launch of the space shuttle program had plenty of suspense.

For days, NASA officials said the chance weather would allow Atlantis to launch as scheduled on July 8 was about 30 percent, but the skies cleared enough to allow a launch attempt. Then at T-minus 31 seconds, the countdown clock paused while officials confirmed the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm had retracted.

Then, with just minutes left in the launch window, Atlantis took off and headed to the International Space Station as an estimated 1 million people watched from the ground - including Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) employee Peter Montgomery.

"It certainly was emotional for everybody," said Montgomery, deputy chief of ATA's Space and Missiles branch. "With any launch you get a certain amount of excitement and pride to see a system that's so complex come together and for everything to work perfectly. So you always have that bit of pride in that accomplishment, but also knowing in the back of your mind that it's the last time you're going to see it go - that certainly weighs on you."

Montgomery is familiar with the feeling of watching a shuttle take off in person. The last launch was the 61st one he has witnessed in person.

Montgomery has been fascinated with space since he was about 8 years old. One of his teachers was a space enthusiast, and during class he watched the Americans and Russians come together in space to orbit the earth together for the first time. He was hooked.

But growing up on the west coast, there was never an opportunity for him to go watch a shuttle launch. His first chance was Sept. 12, 1992, when Endeavour lifted off for STS-47. Montgomery was a student at the University of Washington and had worked on an experiment that was on board.

"It was absolutely incredible," Montgomery said. "It's so hard to describe the difference of actually being there versus watching it on television. The sound, the feeling, the vibration - even the rumble in the ground - you really can feel all of that when you're there, just the sheer power and an awe-inspiring sight as it takes off. That really hooked me."

Montgomery ended up making the move east and has worked for ATA for the last 15 years. He has attended several launches and several others that didn't quite make it while he was there. Montgomery has been to about 10 launches that were scrubbed due to a variety of issues, from bad weather to sensor malfunctions.

As someone who plans vacations carefully around launch dates, Montgomery knew there would be some trips where he bolted out of town on a plane on short notice - and some carefully planned trips that would be a bust.

"I find the key to seeing these is really persistence," he said. "When you go down to one of these, you have to allow some extra time for some of those variables that sometimes delay a launch."

The trips are fun for Montgomery. He's seen night launches - which are his favorite - and gets the opportunity to hang out with other shuttle launch enthusiasts, space industry employees and even meet a few famous faces like former vice president Dan Quayle.

Unlike many who make the trip to Florida to see shuttle launches, Montgomery has played a role in the shuttle program through his ties to Arnold Engineering Development Center. He and other AEDC employees actually got to put their hands on the shuttle project when NASA asked AEDC to conduct foam impact testing for the shuttle's return to flight after the space shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

Foam from the shuttle's external tank struck Columbia's left wing during takeoff, damaging the shuttle's thermal tiles and causing it to break apart during its return to Earth. NASA needed help, and AEDC was there to offer its workers' expertise.

Montgomery and other AEDC workers went to work at the base's ballistics range facilities, firing foam at pieces of solid rocket boosters and learning what other systems could be impacted by foam that came loose during launch. The information helped NASA broaden its database of information and gain a better understanding of what problems the space agency could have with foam in the future.

"It was always my dream to work in this industry, and one of the parts of that dream was to be involved in something that would really make a difference," he said. "This was an opportunity, out of tragedy, to really make a difference - to partner with NASA in getting the shuttle program back on track and getting the system flying again safely for future crews."

And when the shuttle Discovery returned the program to flight in 2005, Montgomery was there to see it. He remembers the atmosphere at Kennedy Space Center being tense and nervous.

"There was a lot of nervous energy and a lot of relief as it went to orbit safely," he said. "But really, you didn't relax until it returned, and I did go down for the landing as well. You really breathed a sigh of relief once it was back on the ground safely and things were moving forward again."

And the program moved forward until that last flight July 8. Out of the 61 shuttle launches he's attended, the last flight of Atlantis was near the top of Montgomery's list of favorites. He says it was an emotional moment for everyone there, but people were also optimistic about what the future will bring.

"Of course it's sad to see the program end, but look at what we've accomplished," he said. "This is the most complicated spacecraft ever made, and it's really performed fantastically. It's made the International Space Station a possibility. Quite frankly, in its current configuration, it just would not have been possible to build that without this vehicle.

"We've also learned a lot just in advancing the technology of spacecraft - understanding more about reusability, where the spacecraft comes back and is used again and again. So we've learned a lot and it's been a fantastic vehicle, and as with any good program, the time has now come to wrap that up and move on to the next challenge. It's sad to see it go, but it's also a proud moment for me to have been a part - at least on a small level - with the work we've done here at AEDC."