Space shuttle Atlantis lands for the final time at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
CAPE CANAVERAL: Wrapping up 30 years of unmatched achievements, NASA's Space Shuttle Program wound up last night with the conclusion of its 135th mission.
Shuttle Atlantis and its four-astronaut crew glided home for the final time, ending a 13-day journey of more than five million miles with a landing at 11:57 pm AEST at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. It was the 26th night landing (20th night and 78th total landings at Kennedy) and the 133rd landing in shuttle history.
"The brave astronauts of STS-135 are emblematic of the shuttle program - skilled professionals from diverse backgrounds who propelled America to continued leadership in space with the shuttle's many successes," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said.
"This final shuttle flight marks the end of an era, but today, we recommit ourselves to continuing human spaceflight and taking the necessary - and difficult - steps to ensure America's leadership in human spaceflight for years to come."
A long legacy
Since STS-1 launched on April 12, 1981, 355 individuals from 16 countries flew 852 times aboard the shuttle. The five shuttles traveled more than 542 million miles and hosted more than 2,000 experiments in the fields of Earth, astronomy, biological and materials sciences.
The shuttles docked with two space stations, the Russian Mir and the International Space Station. Shuttles deployed 180 payloads, including satellites, returned 52 from space and retrieved, repaired and redeployed seven spacecraft.
The STS-135 crew consisted of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, mission specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.
They delivered more than ~4,264 kg of spare parts, spare equipment and other supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module - including 1,214 kg of food - that will sustain space station operations for the next year. The 6.4-m long, 4.5-m diameter Raffaello brought back nearly 2,585 kg of unneeded materials from the station.
End of an era
Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager said: "Hearing the sonic booms as Atlantis came home for the last time really drove it home to me that this has been a heck of a program."
"Although we got to take the ride," said Commander Chris Ferguson on behalf of his crew, " we sure hope that everybody who has ever worked on, or touched, or looked at, or envied or admired a space shuttle was able to take just a little part of the journey with us."
