The last space mission of Atlantis.
On July 8, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of the final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. The mission, designated STS-135, was the 135th and last flight of the four-decade-long program that started with STS-1 in 1981. Atlantis was also the fourth and second-to-last space shuttle to be built, having made its maiden flight in 1985.
The STS-135 mission had a crew of four astronauts: Christopher Ferguson, Douglas G. Hurley, Sandra Magnus, and Rex J. Walheim. They were the smallest shuttle crew since STS-6 in 1983, as no other shuttle was available for a rescue mission in case of an emergency. The main objectives of the mission were to deliver supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station (ISS), and to test a new system for refueling satellites in orbit.
The primary cargo of Atlantis was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello, a large cylindrical container that carried about 9,400 pounds (4,300 kg) of equipment and experiments for the ISS. Raffaello was attached to the shuttle’s robotic arm and transferred to the station’s Harmony module on July 10, 2011. This was the only time that Atlantis carried an MPLM, as the previous ones were flown by Discovery and Endeavour.
Another important payload was the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), a demonstration of a new technology that could extend the life of satellites by refueling them in orbit. The RRM consisted of a washing machine-sized module that contained tools and hardware for robotic operations, and a mock satellite with valves and nozzles. The RRM was mounted on a platform outside the station’s airlock, where it was accessed by the station’s robotic arm and the Dextre robot.
Atlantis docked with the ISS on July 10, 2011, at 15:07 UTC, and undocked on July 19, 2011, at 06:28 UTC. During the eight days of joint operations, the shuttle and station crews performed four spacewalks to install new hardware, replace a failed pump module, and retrieve experiments from the station’s exterior. The spacewalks were conducted by Walheim and station astronaut Mike Fossum, who wore shuttle spacesuits as there were no spare suits on the station.
The STS-135 mission also marked several milestones and achievements for the space shuttle program. It was the first shuttle mission to fly with a prototype of an Orion crew vehicle rendezvous sensor, which could be used for future exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. It was also the last shuttle mission to use an MPLM, a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC), and a shuttle spacesuit. It was also the last time that a shuttle crew received a wake-up call from Mission Control, a tradition that dated back to the Gemini program.
Atlantis landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011, at 09:57 UTC, after a flawless re-entry and descent. The landing brought an end to the 30-year history of the space shuttle program, which had flown 135 missions, carried 355 people from 16 countries, orbited Earth 21,152 times, traveled 542 million miles (872 million km), and delivered more than 2 million pounds (900 metric tons) of cargo to space.
The STS-135 mission was a fitting finale for Atlantis and the space shuttle program, as it showcased the capabilities and achievements of the reusable spacecraft that had revolutionized human spaceflight for a generation. As Ferguson said before closing Atlantis’ hatch for the last time: “The space shuttle changed the way we viewed the world and it changed the way we view our universe. There’s a lot of emotion today but one thing’s indisputable: America’s not going to stop exploring.”