NASA launched the final Space Shuttle mission
On this day · 8 July 2011
Atlantis thundered off the pad on July 8, 2011, closing out 30 years and 135 flights of America's reusable orbiters.
At 11:29 a.m. EDT on July 8, 2011, Space Shuttle Atlantis rose from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on STS-135 — the 135th and final flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle program. The liftoff marked the last time a shuttle would climb to orbit after 30 years of service.
The mission carried the smallest crew since 1983: commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley, and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. Their job was practical rather than glamorous — hauling roughly 9,400 pounds of spare parts and supplies to the International Space Station inside the Raffaello logistics module, a final stockpiling run before the fleet retired.
The liftoff marked the last time a space shuttle would pierce the sky after 30 years of flights.
Atlantis touched down on July 21, ending an era that built and serviced the orbiting laboratory it had just resupplied. The four orbiters now sit in museums, retired ambassadors of a winged spaceflight chapter.
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