![]() ![]() "I looked a little bit into Atlantis' history and it's very interesting," Atlantis' STS-135 commander Chris Ferguson said in a preflight interview. ![]() The orbiter has made 4,648 orbits of the Earth and to date, has spent 293 days, 18 hours, 29 minutes in space.Ītlantis' STS-135 mission will be the orbiter's 33rd flight, and will tack on 12 days and many more miles to these current figures.Īmong Atlantis' many accomplishments, the shuttle made the first docking to the Russian Mir space station in June 1995, delivered the space station's Destiny laboratory, Columbus laboratory and Quest airlock and portions of the station's backbone-like truss.Ītlantis' STS-125 mission, which launched on May 11, 2009, was also the last flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Up to and including its most recent flight, STS-132, Atlantis has traveled 120,650,907 miles (194,168,813 km). Rounding out the shuttle program legacy - AtlantisĪtlantis is NASA's second most flown orbiter, and is the vehicle that will bring the agency's iconic shuttle program to a close at the end of its STS-135 mission. Following a months-long decommissioning process, Discovery will eventually be placed on public display at the SmithsonianNational Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, D.C. The orbiter landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the final time on March 9. "Just something that our country should be very, very proud of."ĭiscovery was the first of NASA's space shuttles to be retired. "I think the legacy that this shuttle has made for herself is just nothing short than cause for celebration," STS-133 mission specialist Michael Barratt said during Discovery's final flight. NASA's fleet leader also performed both return-to-flight missions after the shuttle program was grounded following the losses of Challenger and Columbia. The busy 13-day mission to the International Space Station capped off Discovery's prolific career, which includes the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope in April 1990.ĭiscovery was the first shuttle to visit the International Space Station in May 1999, and would return to the outpost another 12 times. The workhorse orbiter lifted off on its final flight, STS-133, on Feb. Over its career, Discovery also made 5,830 orbits of the Earth.ĭiscovery made its maiden launch on the STS-41D mission in August 1984. After 27 years and 39 flights, Discovery has logged 365 days - a full year - in space, and journeyed 148,221,675 miles (238,539,663 km). ĭiscovery, the veteran of the fleet, is NASA's oldest and most traveled shuttle. Yet, the accidents helped shape the agency's future, and the shuttle program would go on to persevere through the misfortunes. The shuttle's damaged heat shield failed to protect the vehicle as it reentered Earth's atmosphere, and Columbia broke apart as it flew over Texas.īoth catastrophes brought NASA's space shuttle program to a temporary halt as operations and safety procedures were modified. ![]() An investigation later revealed that a piece of foam insulation from Columbia's fuel tank broke off during launch and impacted the orbiter's left wing. 1, 2003, as the orbiter attempted to return home at the end of its 28th flight – the STS-107 mission. NASA lost the shuttle Columbia and its seven-astronaut crew on Feb. Seven astronauts died in a horrific accident caused by a faulty seal on one of the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters, which was aggravated by exceptionally cold weather. 28, 1986, at the beginning of the orbiter's 10th flight. Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch on Jan. ![]()
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