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STS-124 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
STS-132 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After a nearly 5.3 million mile round trip to the International Space Station, space shuttle Atlantis slows down with the aid of a drag chute after landing on Runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle landed on orbit 202 to complete the 13-day STS-122 mission. Main gear touchdown was 9:07:10 a.m. Nose gear touchdown was 9:07:20 a.m. Wheel stop was at 9:08:08 a.m. Mission elapsed time was 12 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes and 44 seconds. During the mission, Atlantis' crew installed the new Columbus laboratory, leaving a larger space station and one with increased science capabilities. The Columbus Research Module adds nearly 1,000 cubic feet of habitable volume and affords room for 10 experiment racks, each an independent science lab. Photo credit: NASA/Kenny Allen, Robert Murray KSC-08pp0440
STS-132 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
STS-132 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
A view of the parked 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the Enterprise Space Shuttle Orbiter mounted on top
STS-132 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
STS-116 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
STS-132 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
Related
Space Shuttle Discovery mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier
Space Shuttle Discovery mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier
Space Shuttle Discovery mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier
Space Shuttle Discovery mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier
Space Shuttle Discovery DC Fly-Over (201204170049HQ)
Space Shuttle Discovery DC Fly-Over (201204170050HQ)
Space Shuttle Discovery Flown Over the U.S. Capitol
Space Shuttle Discovery DC Fly-Over
Space Shuttle Discovery DC Fly-Over
Space Shuttle Discovery mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier
Summary
Space Shuttle Discovery mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft at Washington Dulles Airport the first orbiter retired from NASA's shuttle fleet
The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.