The Last Space Shuttle Mission STS-135
In this article on The Last Space Shuttle Mission, we give a little history and then a review of the The Last Space Shuttle Mission. Most of this information is from the NASA website.
If you haven't been there you have to go there and check out their info on the space shuttle and the really cool 14 minute video they have on the history of the Space shuttle missions.
The main NASA space shuttle web pafge is at this link: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
And the link to the grea video I mentioned is here: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/the_shuttle/
And you can click on this link to watch LIVE coverage of STS-135! http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
The Last Space Shuttle Mission STS-135 – a Brief History of the space shuttle
Since 1981, NASA space shuttles have been rocketing from the Florida coast into Earth orbit. The five orbiters — Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour — have flown more than 130 times, carrying over 350 people into space and travelling more than half a billion miles, more than enough to reach Jupiter. Designed to return to Earth and land like a giant glider, the shuttle was the world's first reusable space vehicle. More than all of that, though, the shuttle program expanded the limits of human achievement and broadened our understanding of our world.
It all started with STS-1 (Space Transportation System – the first mission), launched on April 12, 1981, just twenty years to the day after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. When astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen launched that morning in Columbia, it was the first time in history a new spacecraft was launched on its maiden voyage with a crew aboard.
For an entire generation, the space shuttle was NASA. We've watched a parade of firsts — Sally Ride, Guy Bluford, Kathy Sullivan, John Glenn and others. We've seen astronauts float free, and launch and repair spacecraft like Hubble which have fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe.
Overview - The Last Space Shuttle Mission STS-135
Launch:
11:29 a.m. EDT - July 8, 2011
Orbiter:
Atlantis
Mission Number:
STS-135
(135th space shuttle flight)
Launch Window:
10 minutes
Launch Pad:
39A
Mission Duration:
12 days
Spacewalks:
1 (by ISS crew)
Landing Site:
KSC
Inclination/Altitude:
51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Primary Payload:
37th station flight (ULF7), multi-purpose logistics module
› STS-135 Press Kit (11.4 Mb PDF)
› STS-135 Commemorative Press Kit Cover (11x17 - 1.7 MB PDF)
"It is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all endeavors . . . to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown." – Ferdinand Magellan, circa 1520
The Last Space Shuttle Mission STS-135 - the Crew
Image above: From the left are STS-135 crew members Rex Walheim, Chris Ferguson, Sandy Magnus and Doug Hurley. Image credit: NASA
The term "astronaut" derives from the Greek words meaning "space sailor," and refers to all who have been launched as crew members aboard NASA spacecraft bound for orbit and beyond. Since the inception of NASA's human space flight program, we have also maintained the term "astronaut" as the title for those selected to join the NASA corps of astronauts who make "space sailing" their career profession. The term "cosmonaut" refers to those space sailors who are members of the Russian space program.
The crew assignments and duties of commander, pilot or mission specialist are given to crew members aboard the space shuttle. A special category of astronauts typically titled "payload specialist" refers to individuals selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a space flight mission. At the present time, these payload specialists may be cosmonauts or astronauts designated by the international partners, individuals selected by the research community, or a company or consortia flying a commercial payload aboard the shuttle.
OK thats it for this article on The Last Space Shuttle Mission STS-135
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