KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) -- The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off successfully Monday afternoon on NASA's fifth and final repair visit to the Hubble Space Telescope. Space shuttle Atlantis launched successfully from Florida Monday on its way to the Hubble telescope. The spacecraft rocketed into mostly sunny skies right on schedule at 2:01 p.m. ET. Atlantis will spend five days upgrading the Hubble, the orbiting observatory that's been scanning the universe for almost two decades. For the seven members of the shuttle crew, that means added pressure. "I think [this] is motivating us because we know there's nobody coming after us to do anything we don't get done," said Atlantis Commander Scott Altman. "This is it. We either get it done or it doesn't happen." Watch Atlantis lift off »
@highlight
Space shuttle Atlantis blasts off Monday on final visit to the Hubble Space Telescope
@highlight
It's been seven years since NASA's last Hubble servicing mission in 2002
@highlight
Astronauts will complete five grueling space walks some 350 miles up in space
@highlight
In its 19 years in orbit, the Hubble has changed our understanding of the universe
Perhaps @placeholder's greatest discovery has been opening scientists' eyes to what they don't yet know.