![]() And I think it just became a bit of a surprise to the world that, wow, it’s not going to fly anymore. It has done it ever since I was a little kid or even before I was born. Yeah, you know, the shuttle flies six times a year. And I think it had become sort of so commonplace. You know, there weren’t many spaceships that looked like it. JToday, weather permitting, Atlantis will display its power and spectacle one last time under the direction of flight director Richard Jones. But I don’t think anyone really could have envisioned where we are today. It got really quiet here at the Kennedy Space Center. Nobody knew where we would be 10 years ago. Over the course of the more than eight days, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim had spent much of their time delivering a stockpile of supplies and parts to the space station. Ten years ago, the last shuttle mission (STS-135) dropped out of the predawn darkness and landed at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility Runway 15 for the final time. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which has spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,769 miles. On the 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-135 delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module that will sustain station operations for the next year. Onboard are NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander Doug Hurley, pilot Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, both mission specialists. (EDT) on July 21, 2011, followed by nose gear touchdown at 5:57:20 a.m., and wheelstop at 5:57:54 a.m. ![]() Securing the space shuttle fleet’s place in history, Atlantis marked the 26th nighttime landing of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Ribbons of steam and smoke trail space shuttle Atlantis as it nears touchdown on the Shuttle Landing Facility’s Runway 15 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the final time. ![]()
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