Wonderful Profile
Space shuttle Atlantis leaps from the launch pad on the final flight of the space shuttle program as STS-135. Burning over 20,000 lbs of fuel every second, Atlantis will accelerate to 28,000 km/h over the course of eight minutes.
Handoff to Houston
Space shuttle Atlantis clears the tower on the final launch of the space shuttle program, STS-135. Once clear of the tower, control is transferred from the Kennedy Space Centre to Mission Control in Houston for the duration of the flight.
Straight Up
A view of space shuttle Atlantis as she stops for the media during rollover from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Fab Four
The final four astronauts of the space shuttle program (from left to right Mission Specialist Rex Walheim, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus) walk with space shuttle Atlantis during rollover, moving the shuttle from the OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility) to the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) for lift and mate with […]
Economies of Scale
Photographers set up a line of remote cameras beneath launch pad 39A, as space shuttle Atlantis points purposefully skyward on the eve of her final launch.
Atlantis Details
Some closeup details of space shuttle Atlantis during her final rollover reveal surprisingly complex surfaces. Top: reinforced carbon carbon panels and tiles on the port wingtip. Center: thermal blankets on the port OMS pod and covered RCS thrusters. Bottom: nose details with RCC cap, TPS tiles, and thermal blankets.
Mission Quilt
NASA employees at the Kennedy Space Centre display a quilt in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building of every single mission patch dating back to 1981’s STS-1. Photo: Michael Spooneybarger.
Camera Wall
A wall of cameras line the shoreline of the press site at Kennedy Space Centre for the final launch of the space shuttle program.
Important Business
A gentleman conducts Important Business on his phone as Atlantis reaches for the clouds during the final launch of the space shuttle program.
Monsoon Season
A remote camera set up on a dry lake bed captures space shuttle Atlantis clearing the tower during launch of STS-135. Heavy rains preceding launch day dramatically changed the nature of this photograph, turning the foreground from a brilliant landscape of caked and broken earth to something approaching a mudbowl.
Toothpick
An American alligator, common at the Kennedy Space Centre, chews on a toothpick outside one of NASA’s administrative buildings.
Booster Max Q
Condensation clouds form around the nose of Atlantis’ solid rocket boosters as the space shuttle makes the transition to supersonic speed. The effect can be seen below, in a frame taken from one of NASA’s HD video cameras mounted to the External Tank:
Chris Hadfield
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gives an interview at the press site of the Kennedy Space Centre. Hadfield flew on two shuttle missions, STS-74 (Atlantis) and STS-100 (Endeavour).
KSC Oldtimer
A gopher tortoise, possible older than the space shuttle program itself, basks in the sun outside of its burrow in the press site, gazing towards launch pad 39A.
Launch of STS-135 (audio)
[audio:STS-135.mp3] The crackling thunder of space shuttle Atlantis’ twin Solid Rocket Boosters fades into the humid Florida sky during the final launch of NASA’s space shuttle program, STS-135, bringing the curtain down on a 30-year old technological marvel. Note: if the audio player doesn’t appear, click the title (Launch of STS-135) to view the actual […]