Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Space Shuttle Era Comes to a Close with Atlantis’ Successful Landing

Space shuttle Atlantis touches down at Kennedy Space Center for the final time. Credit: NASA. Click for high resolution versions

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An end to a remarkable era: the landing of Atlantis brings to a close the extraordinary and storied space shuttle program. This 135th and final mission ended when shuttle Atlantis and its four crew members touched down in the predawn darkness at 5:56 a.m. after a 13-day mission to the International Space Station.

See the landing video, below.

“Mission complete, Houston,” said STS-135 commander Chris Ferguson after Atlantis came to wheel stop. . “After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history. It’s come to a final stop.”

“We’ll take this opportunity to congratulate you, Atlantis,” replied capcom Barry “Butch” Wilmore in mission control in Houston, “as well as the thousands of passionate individuals across this great, space faring nation who truly empower this incredible spacecraft, which for three decades has inspired millinos around the globe. Job well done.”

“Hey thanks, Butch, great words, great words,” Ferguson said. “You know, the space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it’s changed the way we view our universe. There are a lot of emotions today, but one thing is indisputable: America’s not going to stop exploring. Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour and our ship, Atlantis. Thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to such a fitting end. God bless all of you, God bless the United States of America.”

Universe Today would like to salute the people who blazed trails by building this unique vehicle, those who maintained and kept the space shuttles flying for 30 years — the longest of any US human space vehicle — and those who flew aboard the five ships who bore the names of great ships of exploration. We especially remember those who gave their lives for the cause of space exploration. The people and the craft will be remembered throughout history.

May this ending signal a new beginning of spaceflight.

“At today’s final landing of the space shuttle, we had the rare opportunity to witness history,” said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden. “We turned the page on a remarkable era and began the next chapter in our nation’s extraordinary story of exploration. The brave astronauts of STS-135 are emblematic of the shuttle program. Skilled professionals from diverse backgrounds who propelled America to continued leadership in space with the shuttle’s many successes. It is my great honor today to welcome them home.”

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Atlantis Undocks from ISS; Farewell for Shuttle

The crew of STS-135 are now on the homestretch of their mission. At 2:28 a.m. EDT Tuesday, space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station while the spacecraft were 243 miles above the Pacific. Atlantis spent eight days, 15 hours and 21 minutes docked to the ISS.

Atlantis is scheduled to make its first attempt to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, July 21, at 5:56 a.m. EDT.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Obama: This is a ‘Capture the Flag’ Moment for Commercial Spaceflight

President Barack Obama called out for pizza today and ending up talking with the crews of STS-135 and Expedition 28 on the International Space Station. Well, that was his story anyway, but he did talk with the crews, offering a challenge for commercial space companies, as well as remembering the first flight of cooperation between the US and the Soviet Union – the Apollo-Soyuz test project which launched 36 years ago today — and reiterating the challenge of sending humans to Mars.

The STS-135 crew brought a flag that was flown on STS-1, the first shuttle mission, up to the ISS. “We’ll present the flag to the space station crew and it will hopefully maintain a position of honor until the next vehicle launched from US soil brings US astronauts up to dock with the space station,” STS-135 commander Chris Ferguson told the president.

“And I understand this is going to be sort of like a capture the flag moment for commercial space flight, so good luck to whoever grabs that flag,” Obama said.
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Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Share a Meal With Astronauts in Space on July 14

NASA's All American Meal the astronauts will eat on July 14, 2011. Credit: NASA

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I’m just making out my shopping list for going to the grocery store tomorrow, and it includes everything I need to share a virtual dinner with the astronauts in space on Thursday, July 14. And no, unfortunately, I’m not launching to the ISS to join them. Food scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston thought it would be fun to give the crew an “All American Meal” — a typical American meal for the final mission of the shuttle and invite the public to join in by preparing the same food. Whatever you prepare it will be more aesthetically pleasing than the rehydrated food in plastic bags the shuttle and ISS crews will eat. Here’s the menu:

An appetizer of brie cheese, crackers and sausage; your choice of grilled chicken (which the shuttle crew will eat) or beef brisket (which will be enjoyed by the ISS crew), Southwestern corn and baked beans. The ISS crew will have beef brisket instead of chicken, but will enjoy the same side dishes as the shuttle crew. Desert for both crews consists of apple pie. The meal concludes with the quintessential American dessert, apple pie.

“Since the mission is in July, we thought it would be fun to have a typical summer meal often enjoyed in our backyards with friends and family,” said Michele Perchonok, NASA food scientist and manager of the shuttle food system.

For the special space recipes or “formulations” as they are called by NASA food scientists, plus more information, video and imagery, visit this NASA webpage.

The crackers, brie, sausage and apple pie are commercial off-the-shelf products repackaged for spaceflight. NASA food scientists prepared the chicken, brisket, corn and beans in a laboratory at Johnson before the mission.

NASA didn’t specify what time the astronauts will be eating their All American Meal, so you can eat at any time during the day and know you’re eating the same thing as the astronauts in space did. Well, pretty close to the same thing anyway. Hopefully those of us sitting on Earth don’t have to rehydrate our food and eat out of plastic bags.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

3-D Atlantis in Flight

A 3-D view of Atlantis during the RBAR pitch maneuver while approaching the space station. Credit: NASA, 3-D by Nathanial Burton-Bradford. Click for larger view on Flickr.

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Time to grab your 3-D glasses (the red/cyan kind, please) and see a couple of 3-D views of Atlantis during her final flight. Above, she’s doing the belly flip, the RBAR pitch maneuver while approaching the station, and 3-D wizard Nathanial Burton-Bradford has 3-D-ified the view. Below is a 3-D look at Atlantis’ launch. Thanks to Nathanial for sharing his images with Universe Today. See his Flickr page for more!

Atlantis' final launch on July 8, 2011. Credit: NASA, 3-D by Nathanial Burton-Bradford. Click for larger view on Flickr.
Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

One Last Time: The Shuttle “Belly Flip”

“Poetry in motion, as Atlantis conducts the last RBAR Pitch Maneuver in shuttle program history,” says NASA TV commentator Rob Navais. Piloted by Space Shuttle commander Chris Ferguson, Atlantis moves through this 9-minute, 360-degree rotation directly beneath the International Space Station. Commonly called the “Belly Flip,” only about 90 seconds of actual high-resolution photography is taken during the entire maneuver. It enables the ISS crew to photograph Atlantis’ Thermal Protection System for engineers on the ground to check for any damage to the heat resistant tiles.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Atlantis Launches on Final Space Shuttle Mission

Space shuttle Atlantis launches into history from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. credit: NASA/Fletcher Hildreth

Space shuttle Atlantis has launched for the final time, for the last mission of the space shuttle program. The crew of four is heading to the International Space Station. Launch occurred at 10:29 EDT (15:29 UTC), and despite an unfavorable weather forecast, Atlantis and her crew beat the 30% odds that was predicted for the probability of launch. There was a slight delay and a hold in the countdown (about 2 minutes) when a problem with the vent arm retraction on the launchpad (the “beanie cap” over the external tank) was detected. The launch control team was able to look at the issue, and determined it was safe to proceed with launch.

Our team of writers and photographers will provide more details and images, soon, (we’ve heard the communications at KSC are completely bogged down).

As for the future, NASA’s Chief Technologist Bobby Braun may have said it best via Twitter: “This is not the end of human spaceflight. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

And the STS-135 mission is just beginning as well. We’ll provide full coverage of the final space shuttle mission for the next two weeks.

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Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Watch the Final Shuttle Launch Live


Free desktop streaming application by Ustream

Spacevidcast is live from Kennedy Space Center and will be providing up-to-the-minute commentary by guest experts throughout the launch countdown webcast. Viewers will also be able to call in and ask questions about astronauts, engineers, and the whole launch process in general via social stream. You can watch here, and participate in the social stream/chat below.


You can also watch live on NASA TV via the web.

SpaceflightNow.com also has a live webcast.

NASA just released a new app to watch the launch on an Android phone.
Continue reading “Watch the Final Shuttle Launch Live”