Atlantis - The Final Space Shuttle Mission

Preview  the eBook  Atlantis - The Final Space Shuttle Mission

 now on Amazon

Shuttle Atlantis Lands Safely For The Last Time

The Shuttle Atlantis landed safely at 05.57 EDT (10.57 GMT) in perfect conditions after 13 days in space. The STS-135 astronauts, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, successfully completed all the mission objectives at the International Space Station and are the last ever to travel on a Space Shuttle.

Space Shuttle Atlantis display at Kennedy Space Center

Once Atlantis is finally decommissioned, it will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said "Here at the Kennedy Space Center where every shuttle mission and so many other historic human space flights have originated, we'll showcase my old friend, Atlantis."

Shuttle Atlantis will be suspended in the air with cargo bay doors opened, so it appears to be back in orbit around the Earth. A multi-story digital projection of the home planet that will rotate behind the orbiter in a 64,000 square-foot indoor facility. The exhibit will open in 2013.

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 13

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 12

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 11

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 10

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 9

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 8

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 7

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 6

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 5

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 4

Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 3

STS-135 Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 2

Shuttle Atlantis Atlantis Docks to International Space Station

Astronauts Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander, and Sandy Magnus, mission specialist, on the aft flight deck of the space shuttle Atlantis during the mission's second day of activities in Earth orbit.
(Photo credit: NASA)

At 11:07 am EDT Commander Chris Ferguson guided space shuttle Atlantis into pressurized mating adapter #2 on the International Space Station’s Harmony node. The two spacecraft were flying about 240 miles high, east of New Zealand, at the time they docked.

This was the 12th and final time Atlantis docked to the space station. It was the 46th shuttle docking to a space station, nine to the Russian Mir station and 37 to the International Space Station. Atlantis performed seven of the nine Mir dockings. This was the 86th space shuttle rendezvous operation and the 164th “proximity operation” in the history of the Space Shuttle Program, where a shuttle conducted operations in close proximity to another spacecraft.

The shuttle and station crews will open hatches and hold the traditional welcome ceremony at about 1:19 p.m. Atlantis’ crew of Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim will join Expedition 28 Commander Andrey Borisenko and Flight Engineers Alexander Samokutyaev and Sergei Volkov of Russia, Satoshi Furukawa from Japan, and NASA’s Ron Garan and Mike Fossum.

The combined crew of 10 begins more than a week of docked operations, transferring vital supplies and equipment to sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired.

STS-135 Atlantis Daily Mission Recap - Flight Day 1

Shuttle Atlantis launched successfully on STS-135, the final mission

Photo Credit NASA HD TV

The Shuttle Atlantis launched successfully on STS-135, the final mission at 11.29 am (16.29 BST) after a short delay due to a technical fault.

The historic final ever shuttle mission was nearly delayed by adverse weather, with showers and thunderstorms within 20 nautical miles of the Shuttle Landing Facility for much of the countdown.

Atlantis Astronauts Arrive at Kennedy Space Center

STS-135 Crew: Sandy Magnus, Pilot Doug Hurley, Commander Chris Ferguson
 and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim. (Image credit: NASA TV) 

The astronauts for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission have arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson said "As our children and our children's children ask us, we want to be able to say, 'We remember when there was a space shuttle.'"  he was accompanied by Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.

Their T-38 jets touched down at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility at about 5:30 p.m. EDT. The crew will participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test and related training. The countdown full dress rehearsal is scheduled for Thursday morning.

Astronaut Sandy Magnus said "It’s going to be a challenging mission with only four of us but really the driver for that is the fact that our rescue scenario’s a little bit different than normal. Ever since Columbia, we’ve been mandated to have a shuttle on the pad ready to launch in case the crew has an issue with the orbiter and they need to be rescued. Because we are the last orbiter, there’s not an orbiter there waiting for us so our rescue scenario involves the Soyuz capsules which we’re flying to station via the Russians, and on the Soyuz capsules only one person can come down at a time. With a crew of four it takes a year to get everybody down and that was deemed to be enough. You don’t want to have six or seven people up there it would take close to two years to get everybody down".

Atlantis is being prepared for the STS-135 mission, the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, targeted for launch July 8.

Preparation for the final Space Shuttle Mission

Space Shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad (Image Credit NASA)

Space Shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for the STS-135 mission, the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, targeted for launch on July the 8th.

The mission's four astronauts are scheduled to fly to Kennedy from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in T-38 jets, arriving at 15:45 EDT (22.45 GMT) to begin their prelaunch countdown rehearsal. Their arrival at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility will be shown live on NASA TV.

At Launch Pad 39A in Florida technicians are X-raying the 50 support beams, called stringers, on the shuttle-facing side of space shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank. This should take about a week to complete but no problems are anticipated with the tank's stringers. Scans began Sunday due to strong storms on Saturday, which caused no damage to the shuttle and pad.

Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Launchpad

Photo Credit: NASA

Space shuttle Atlantis has completed the 3.4 mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A.

The external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters were secured to the launch pad at 3:29 a.m. The move began last night at 8:42 p.m. and took approximately 7 hours.