#10, The End of an Era
Space Shuttle Atlantis to End NASA Program with July 8 Launch
By Balasubramanyam Seshan (July 4th, 2011)
NASA space shuttle Atlantis is set to liftoff on the final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. The launch is currently targeted for July 8 at 11:26 am EDT.
The space shuttle Atlantis will carry a crew of four: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. Atlantis flew its maiden voyage on October 3, 1985, on the STS-51-J mission.
The mission also will fly the Robotic Refueling Mission, an experiment designed to demonstrate and test the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically refuel satellites in space, even satellites not designed to be serviced.
The crew also will return an ammonia pump that recently failed on the station. NASA engineers want to understand why the pump failed and improve designs for future spacecraft.
NASA’s workhorses for the past 30 years have completed their mission to build and supply the orbiting outpost, and the agency is now looking to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit.
At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, technicians have completed work to close out space shuttle Atlantis' aft section. Teams are not working any issues to prevent the start of the launch countdown at 1 pm EDT on July 5. Teams will have the Independence Day weekend off.
At NASA's Johnson Space Center, the STS-135 astronauts performed a final ascent simulation before the launch on July 8. The crew is set to arrive at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility at about 2:45 pm on Monday.
Atlantis is centered over elements of the NASA emblem depicting how the space shuttle has been at the heart of NASA for the last 30 years. It also pays tribute to the entire NASA and contractor team that made possible all the incredible accomplishments of the space shuttle. Omega, the last letter in the Greek alphabet, recognizes this mission as the last flight of the Space Shuttle Program.
STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.
NASA issued facts that 355 individuals will have flown 852 times on 135 shuttle missions, which includes the Atlantis' final mission, since STS-1 launched on April 12, 1981. The five orbiters have flown 537,114,016 miles. STS-135 will add more than 4 million miles to the total.
In addition, sixteen countries have been represented on shuttle missions: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States.
The shuttles have docked to two space stations: Between 1994 and 1998, nine missions flew to the Russian Mir. With STS-135, 37 shuttle missions will have flown to the International Space Station. Additionally, for 77 times shuttles have landed at the Kennedy Space Center, 54 times at Edwards Air Force Base in California and once in the White Sands Test Facility, N.M.
NASA was established on July 29th, 1958 with the goal of expanding U.S. space exploration. Just ten years after its establishment, Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon and uttered his famous first words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". In 1990, the Hubble Telescope was launched and has helped man approximate the age of the universe, identify black holes, and see the cosmos like never before. In 1996, the Mars Pathfinder Mission put a robot on the surface of Mars and proved to the world that exploration to Mars is entirely possible. On Friday the last NASA shuttle, the STS-135, will depart and mark the end of the shuttle program.
NASA is being shut down amidst an increasingly fierce debate about the value of a space exploration program funded by taxpayer dollars. Should taxes be used to support space exploration? Defend your position.
-Teacher Lee