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Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) made its final landing back on Earth at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:57 a.m. EDT, ending an era that saw the launches of 135 space shuttles in the past 30 years. "After serving the world for 30 years, the space shuttle has found its place in history," said Christopher Ferguson, the astronaut who commanded Atlantis' final mission, by radio to mission control. The shuttle came to rest at 5:58 a.m. EDT. At wheels stop, the mission's elapsed time was 12 days,...
The final flight of NASA's 30-year-old space shuttle program is scheduled to end on Thursday, July 21, when Atlantis and its STS-135 crew return to Earth. The landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida marks the completion of a 13-day mission to supply the International Space Station for the post-shuttle era.Thursday's Kennedy landing opportunities are at 5:56 a.m. and 7:32 a.m. EDT. Atlantis' entry flight control team, led by Flight Director Tony Ceccacci, will evaluate weather...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The final flight of NASA's 30-year-old space shuttle program is scheduled to end on Thursday, July 21, when Atlantis and its STS-135 crew return to Earth. The landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida marks the completion of a 13-day mission to supply the International Space Station for the post-shuttle era. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Thursday's Kennedy landing opportunities are at 5:56...
After space shuttle Atlantis' scheduled landing Thursday, July 21, a welcome home ceremony for the STS-135 astronauts is planned for Friday, July 22. Journalists and the public are invited to attend the 4 p.m. CDT event at Ellington Field's NASA Hangar 990. Gates to Ellington Field will open at 3:30 p.m.Reporters planning to attend must contact NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20. Arrangements will be made for live television satellite trucks...
A Shuttle Training Aircraft plunges 28,000 feet in a little more than a minute when astronauts use it to practice a space shuttle approach. It's as close as anyone can get to experiencing a shuttle landing without becoming an astronaut. And what a ride it is.It takes nine minutes for the STA, a modified Gulfstream II business jet, to reach the altitude for the first run, a little lower than airlines typically cruise. STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson is at the shuttle-like controls in the...
One of space shuttle Atlantis' five computers was investigated by NASA on Friday after it failed sometime late Thursday, setting off an alarm and awakening astronauts. NASA said General Purpose Computer (GPC) 4 "was being used as the systems management computer when it failed at 6:07 pm EDT (2207 GMT) Thursday, generating an alarm that awakened the Atlantis crew." Shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson and his co-pilot, Douglas Hurley, loaded new software into one of Atlantis' main computers...
NASA said the crew aboard space shuttle Atlantis' final flight woke up to a special message from Elton John on Wednesday, before starting work on cargo transfers."Good morning, Atlantis, this is Elton John," the British singer said in a pre-recorded message. "We wish you much success on your mission. A huge thank you to all the men and women at NASA who worked on the shuttle for the last three decades." The message followed up Tuesday's wake up song, which was John's "Rocket Man."Â This...
With the successful launch of the final space shuttle mission, Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has issued a video statement about the program and the agency's future.Bolden salutes the Space Shuttle Program and its many accomplishments while also highlighting the human spaceflight missions yet to come on the space station and beyond. NASA is facilitating commercial access for cargo and crew to low Earth orbit and developing...
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully lifted off Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center today, marking the final Space Shuttle launch of the program. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080407/LAM060LOGO) "The STS-135 mission will cap a remarkable program full of unparalleled accomplishments. The employees of United Space Alliance are intensely proud of the important role they have played in processing, launching, and operating...
NASA's weather officer said on Tuesday that showers and thunderstorms could delay this weeks' final launch for space shuttle Atlantis. Atlantis is set to usher out the space shuttle program Friday on July 8 at 11:26 a.m. with four U.S. astronauts on board a 12-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight will be the last by a U.S. shuttle, ending the 30-year program and leaving a gap in U.S. human spaceflight. However, growing weather concerns could cause this mission...
Latest Edwards Air Force Base Reference Libraries
Lodewijk van den Berg is a naturalized American chemical engineer born in the Netherlands whom was rather dedicated to crystal growth and also rode aboard as a payload specialist on the 1985 Space Shuttle Challenger mission. He was born in Sluiskil, Netherlands on March 24, 1932. He worked to get his Engineer’s degree in chemical engineering at the Delft University of Technology in Netherlands from 1949 to 1961. After moving to the United States, Van den Berg continued his education to...
David Walker was a United States Navy officer and a NASA astronaut. He was born David Mathieson Walker on May 20, 1944 in Columbus, Georgia and graduated from Eustis High School in Eustis, Florida in 1962. He then went on to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1966. Upon graduation, he went through flight training in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas and was subsequently named a Naval Aviator in December 1967. His first...
Tamara Jernigan is an American scientist and former NASA astronaut. She was born Tamara Elizabeth "Tammy" Jernigan on May 7, 1959 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She attended Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe Springs, CA and graduated in 1977. She then went on to attend Stanford University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1981 and a Master of Science degree in engineering science in 1983. While at Stanford, she was a member of the varsity volleyball team. Following her...
Steven Hawley is a former NASA astronaut. He was born Steven Alan Hawley on December 12, 1951 in Ottawa, Kansas. He graduated from Salina High School Central in Salina, Kansas in 1969 and continued on to The University of Kansas, where he received two Bachelor of Arts degrees in physics and astronomy. After graduating with the highest distinction of his class and spending summers as a research assistant at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, Hawley received...
Henry Hartsfield is a retired United States Air Force officer and a former NASA astronaut. He was born Henry Warren "Hank" Hartsfield, Jr. on November 21, 1933 in Birmingham, Alabama where he was raised. He graduated from West End High School and went on to attend Auburn University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1954 and received his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Program. He joined the Air Force a year after his graduation and was assigned to the...
![Sally Ride\](/media/gallery/universe/thumbs/thumbs_iod-universe-061913.jpg "Sally Ride\")
