By Marc S. Posner
SOAR Magazine

Columbia’s fiery destruction in 2003 signaled the beginning of the end for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. This morning’s picture-perfect landing for Atlantis marks the end of the end — a final moment in the spotlight for what is arguably the world’s most-complex piece of machinery at the end of a farewell tour that also included the retirements of Discovery and Endeavour.

With Atlantis’ crew of four safely back on Earth, the three remaining orbiters will now become museum pieces — enjoying retirement in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, the California Science Center in Los Angeles and at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex in Florida.

Flying into the sunrise after crossing the western coast of Florida, Commander Chris Ferguson swooped the shuttle into a 240-degree, left-hand bank and onto the pitch-black Kennedy Space Center landing strip.

“Having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, it’s place in history secure, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. Its voyage at an end,” NASA TV commentary noted as the shuttle rolled toward a its final stop at 5:57 a.m., EDT. “Atlantis is home. It’s journey complete. A moment to be savored.”

“After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has its place in history,” Ferguson said. “One thing is indisputable, America is 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.”

After traveling 5,284,862 miles on STS-135, Atlantis glided out of a dark, early morning sky onto Kennedy’s Runway 15, on cue for a series of events NASA lined up to commemorate the historic event.

At about 7:45 a.m., NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Ferguson are scheduled to make comments at the shuttle runway. The remarks will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

“Children who dream of being astronauts today may not fly on the space shuttle . . . but, one day, they may walk on Mars,” Bolden said in a statement issued following the landing. “The future belongs to us. And just like those who came before us, we have an obligation to set an ambitious course and take an inspired nation along for the journey.”

Atlantis is slated to be towed from the runway and parked outside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at about 10 a.m., for several hours to give employees an opportunity to walk around and photograph the shuttle. The area will then play host to an employee appreciation event with Bolden and Bob Cabana, director of Kennedy Space Center.

Once the orbiter is decommissioned, it will be on permanent display at Kennedy. Endeavour heads to California, and Discovery will replace Enterprise — the lone shuttle to never fly in space — in the Smithsonian. Enterprise, which flew early test landings at Edwards Air Force Base in California, will be relocated to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York.

In its final mission, Atlantis completed an even 200 revolutions of the Earth. During the 30-year program, 852 crew members flew aboard Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour in a total of 135 missions. In 37 missions to the International Space Station, they spent nearly 40 weeks at the orbiting outpost.

Combined, the shuttle fleet flew for 1,323 days, completed 21,152 orbits and travelled 542,398,878 miles.

Atlantis was named after the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. The orbiter was the fourth operational shuttle, making its first flight, STS-51J, on October 3, 1985.

In 33 missions, Atlantis sent probes to Venus and Jupiter and carried NASA’s Destiny laboratory to the International Space Station. Atlantis also served as the final shuttle servicing mission, STS-125, for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope — the lone post-Columbia mission designated for a purpose other than completion of the space station.

Atlantis carried 207 total crew members, conducted 7 Mir dockings (including the first), made 12 visits to the ISS, and deployed 15 satellites.

Her final mission focused on stocking the ISS with supplies and spare parts to sustain operations. The four-member crew of Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim, delivered the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module.

During the 13-day mission, Atlantis spent 8 days, 15 hours and 21 minutes attached to the orbiting laboratory where the combined shuttle and ISS crews conducted one space walk and unloaded 9,403 pounds of spare parts, spare equipment and other supplies from Raffaello — including 2,677 pounds of food. The also reloaded Raffaello with nearly 5,700 pounds of unneeded materials from the station and ferried them back to Earth.

One item remaining behind is an historic American flag that flew aboard shuttle Columbia on America’s first shuttle flight, STS-1 in 1981. Commander Chris Ferguson presented it to the station crew on Saturday as a symbol that the United States is in space to stay, with astronauts permanently living and working aboard the station for many years to come.

Ferguson said the flag will remain at the station until the next crew launched from the United States arrives at the outpost. That crew will bring the flag back to Earth, until it once again is carried into space with the first crew to launch from the United States on a journey of exploration beyond Earth orbit.

The shuttle concept was first introduced at what later became the Johnson Space Center three months before Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Almost exactly 11 years later, on April 12, 1981, Columbia soared off Launch Pad 39A on STS-1. After four flights, then-NASA Administrator James Beggs declared the space shuttle operational, and President Ronald Reagan, who attended the Edwards Air Force Base landing, compared the completion of the test-flight series to the driving of the gold spike marking completion of the transcontinental railroad. “It marks our entrance into a new era,” he said.

Challenger, the second operational shuttle, made its first flight, STS-6, on April 4, 1983. Discovery joined the fleet in August 1984 and went on to become the workhorse of the fleet, completing 39 missions before becoming the first space shuttle retired from NASA’s fleet following STS-133 in February and March of this year.

Endeavour, the final shuttle built, was ordered as a replacement for Challenger. Named by students, Endeavour made its first flight in May 1992 on STS-49.

Despite the many successes of the shuttle missions, the program will also be defined by two tragedies — Challenger’s explosion in January 1986 and Columbia’s destruction during reentry in February 2003.

Seven astronauts were killed in each of the two incidents. They represent the nation’s only in-flight space-mission fatalities. Three Apollo astronauts were killed during a 1967 launch-pad test.

January 28, 1986 marked the end of the innocence.

On a cold, clear, bright Florida day — and with an air of excitement generated by the first teacher in space being aboard — Challenger launched at 11:38 a.m. local time. Seventy-three seconds later, at an altitude of almost nine miles, the spacecraft exploded in a fireball; the twin boosters emerged, continuing upward in an unsteady path, but the shuttle and external tank shattered into a shower of falling debris.

Eventually, the accident was attributed to a faulty seal in one of the twin solid-rocket boosters, which resulted in a plume of fire burring through the external tank.

The seven crew members, Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik and Ronald E. McNair, and Payload Specialists Gregory Jarvis and Teacher in Space Sharon Christa McAuliffe, were killed.

Seventeen years later, tragedy struck NASA once more.

On January 16, 2003, Columbia launched with more than 80 experiments, most in a Spacehab research double module in the cargo bay. Crew members worked around the clock in two 12-hour shifts.

After what appeared to be a successful flight, Columbia was minutes away from its scheduled February 1 landing when it broke apart. Investigation determined that a piece of foam fell from the external tank, striking Columbia’s left wing’s leading edge 82 seconds after launch. Columbia was at about 66,000 feet and traveling at 1,650 mph at the time, and the relative velocity of the foam to Columbia at impact was about 545 mph.

The seven crew members, Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of Israel, were killed.

On January 14, 2004, almost a year after the accident, President George W. Bush released the Vision for Space Exploration. Among its goals was to complete assembly of the International Space Station and then retire the space shuttle.

Discovery returned America to space on July 26, 2005, demonstrating a series of procedures to help ensure the structural integrity of the thermal protection system. The new procedures called for inspections with the shuttle’s robotic arm and a detailed photographic survey of the orbiter’s belly by crews aboard the ISS taken as the shuttle performed a slow back flip on approach to the orbiting outpost.

All but one of the 22 post-Columbia missions, excluding the final Hubble servicing mission, followed this process as each travelled to the space station.

Each of the 135 shuttle launches took place at Kennedy Space Center. Of the 133 landings, 78 were at Kennedy and 54 at Edwards. A total of 25 landings took place at night — 18 at KSC and six at Edwards. One mission, STS-3, concluded at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden today issued this statement about the final landing of the Space Shuttle Program:

“At today’s final landing of the space shuttle, we had the rare opportunity to witness history. 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.

I salute them and all of the men and women who have flown shuttle missions since the very first launch on April 12, 1981.

The shuttle program brought our nation many firsts. Many proud moments, some of which I was privileged to experience myself as a shuttle commander. I was proud to be part of the shuttle program and will carry those experiences with me for the rest of my life.

As we move forward, we stand on the shoulders of these astronauts and the thousands of people who supported them on the ground - as well as those who cheered their triumphs and mourned their tragedies.

This final shuttle flight marks the end of an era, but today, we recommit ourselves to continuing human spaceflight and taking the necessary-and difficult-steps to ensure America’s leadership in human spaceflight for years to come.

I want to send American astronauts where we’ve never been before by focusing our resources on exploration and innovation, while leveraging private sector support to take Americans to the International Space Station in low Earth orbit.

With the bold path President Obama and Congress have set us on, we will continue the grand tradition of exploration.

Children who dream of being astronauts today may not fly on the space shuttle . . . but, one day, they may walk on Mars. The future belongs to us. And just like those who came before us, we have an obligation to set an ambitious course and take an inspired nation along for the journey.

I’m ready to get on with the next big challenge.

The future is bright for human spaceflight and for NASA. American ingenuity is alive and well. And it will fire up our economy and help us win the future, but only if we dream big and imagine endless possibilities. That future begins today.”

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Wrapping up 30 years of unmatched achievements and blazing a trail for the next era of U.S. human spaceflight, NASA’s storied Space Shuttle Program came to a “wheels stop” on Thursday at the conclusion of its 135th mission.

Shuttle Atlantis and its four-astronaut crew glided home for the final time, ending a 13-day journey of more than five million miles with a landing at 5:57 a.m. EDT at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the 25th night landing (19th night and 78th total landings at Kennedy) and the 133rd landing in shuttle history.

“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,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “This final shuttle flight marks the end of an era, but today, we recommit ourselves to continuing human spaceflight and taking the necessary- and difficult - steps to ensure America’s leadership in human spaceflight for years to come.”

Since STS-1 launched on April 12, 1981, 355 individuals from 16 countries flew 852 times aboard the shuttle. The five shuttles traveled more than 542 million miles and hosted more than 2,000 experiments in the fields of Earth, astronomy, biological and materials sciences.

The shuttles docked with two space stations, the Russian Mir and the International Space Station. Shuttles deployed 180 payloads, including satellites, returned 52 from space and retrieved, repaired and redeployed seven spacecraft.

The STS-135 crew consisted of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. They delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, spare equipment and other supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module - including 2,677 pounds of food - that will sustain space station operations for the next year. The 21-foot long, 15-foot diameter Raffaello brought back nearly 5,700 pounds of unneeded materials from the station.

Space shuttle Atlantis’ payload bay doors are closed and everything continues to proceed on schedule for this morning’s landing.

Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office Rick Sturckow is flying weather reconnaissance at Kennedy Space Center to provide real-time observations that will aid in the decision to land. Sturckow is reporting “severe clear” skies and no weather concerns. Weather is both observed and forecast “go.”

At 2:19 a.m., Entry Flight Director Tony Ceccacci is expected to give a “go” for Atlantis’ computers to begin running the Ops 3 entry software. At 2:49 a.m. a “go” is expected for crew suit up. The “go” for deorbit burn is expected by 4:29 a.m.

The deorbit burn is scheduled for 4:49:04 a.m. and will lead to a landing at 5:56:58 a.m.

As the end NASA’s Space Shuttle Program nears, here are some facts provided by the space agency:

SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM FACTS

• STS-135 is the 135th and final shuttle mission and the 33rd flight of Atlantis.
• 355 individuals will have flown 852 times on 135 shuttle missions since STS-1 launched on April 12, 1981.
• Sixteen countries have been represented on shuttle missions: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States.
• Fourteen people died during two accidents: STS-51L on Jan. 28, 1986 and STS-107 on Feb. 1, 2003.
• The five orbiters have flown 537,114,016 miles. STS-135 will add more than four million miles to the total.
• More than 2,000 experiments have been conducted on the shuttles in the fields of Earth, biological and materials sciences and astronomy.
• The shuttles have docked to two space stations: Between 1994 and 1998, nine missions flew to the Russian Mir. With STS-135, 37 shuttle missions will have flown to the International Space Station.
• Shuttles have landed at the Kennedy Space Center 77 times, Edwards Air Force Base in California 54 times and the White Sands Test Facility, N.M. once.
• In launch configuration, the space shuttle, external tank, twin solid rocket boosters, and the three space shuttle main engines contain about 2.5 million moving parts.

NASA has released the following weather update for tomorrow’s planned shuttle landing attempt at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center:

The Spaceflight Meteorology Group has updated its forecast for space shuttle Atlantis’ landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The forecast remains “very favorable,” with no predicted flight rule violations that would prevent landing at 5:56:58 a.m. EDT.

Here is the official Spaceflight Meteorology Group landing forecast for Kennedy:

WEATHER SYNOPSIS:

KSC – The EOM weather outlook for KSC remains very favorable. Surface high pressure will continue to build across the southeast U.S. into Thursday with dry conditions and light winds expected for EOM. No weather flight rule violations are forecast for EOM+1 at KSC as the large scale weather pattern over east central Florida changes very little between EOM and EOM+1.

Space shuttle Atlantis’ wakeup song for landing day was “God Bless America” by Kate Smith, played at 9:29 p.m. EDT, for the entire crew and all the men and women who have worked for the shuttle program over the years.

Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim will begin deorbit preparations a little before 1 a.m. EDT for their planned landing at 5:56 a.m. at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The STS-135 landing ground tracks for Thursday’s two Kennedy landing opportunities are here: http://1.usa.gov/qtBmwx

Shuttle Atlantis’ crew is wrapping up final preparations for its planned landing at 5:56:58 a ET Thursday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The crew has stowed the Ku-Band antenna, used for high-data rate communications and television from space, and will go to sleep at 1:29 p.m. Mission managers have cleared Atlantis’ heat shield for entry after reviewing results of the “late inspection” survey.

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 1:24 AM EDT

Space shuttle Atlantis’ astronauts activated one of the ship’s three auxiliary power units, APU 1, and performed a checkout of the orbiter’s flight control surfaces. This standard day-before-entry test assures the crew and Mission Control that Atlantis’ elevons and speed brake will provide control once the shuttle enters the atmosphere for Thursday’s landing.

Soon, the crew will “hotfire” Atlantis’ 44 reaction control system thruster jets to verify their ability to steer the shuttle through its entry profile before it encounters the atmosphere.

The Flight Dynamics Officer in Mission Control has slightly updated the times for Atlantis’ two Thursday landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center:

Orbit 200
Deorbit burn - 4:49:04 a.m. EDT
Landing - 5:56:58 a.m. EDT

Orbit 201
Deorbit burn - 6:25:44 a.m. EDT
Landing - 7:32:55 a.m. EDT

Today’s wakeup song was “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copland, played at 9:32 p.m. EDT for space shuttle Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson, with a special message from employees of Kennedy Space Center: “Three … two … one … Good morning, Atlantis! Kennedy salutes you. See you back at wheels stop!”

Atlantis’ astronauts will begin the job of preparing their shuttle for landing at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday. They will begin stowing items no longer needed for their mission, test the flight control surfaces and fire all the thrusters to ensure they will operate correctly for entry back to Earth. Later in the day they will deploy a small 5” X 5” X 10” technology demonstration satellite, called PicoSat, from a canister in Atlantis’ payload bay. The satellite will relay data back to investigators on the performance of solar cells that cover the nanosatellite for analysis and possible use on future space hardware. The crew then will do communications checks with ground stations and field questions from network reporters.

Following separation from the International Space Station on Tuesday morning, Atlantis’ crew completed an inspection of the shuttle’s thermal protection system. They used the 50-foot long Orbiter Boom Sensor System to conduct a high fidelity, three-dimensional scan of areas of the shuttle that experience the highest heating during entry—the wing leading edges and nose cap. Managers and engineers in Mission Control will review the data today and tomorrow to validate the heat shield’s integrity.

This marks the final use of the shuttle’s robotic arm, dating back to its inaugural flight on the shuttle Columbia in October 1981 on the STS-2 mission, operated by Commander Richard Truly and Pilot Joe Engle for approximately 10 hours of checkout operations. Canadarm deployed and retrieved its first payload, the Plasma Diagnostic Package, on Columbia’s STS-3 mission of Commander Jack Lousma and Pilot Gordon Fullerton.

At 2:28 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station while the spacecraft were 243 miles above the Pacific, east of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Atlantis spent 8 days, 15 hours and 21 minutes attached to the orbiting laboratory. Over the 37 missions devoted to assembling and maintaining the space station, shuttles were docked for 276 days, 11 hours and 23 minutes – almost 40 weeks.

With the two craft once again flying separately, the four-member Atlantis crew has turned its attention to making preparations for Thursday’s scheduled landing at Kennedy Space Center with a late inspection of the heat shield.

NASA managers have targeted two landing opportunities on Thursday morning with landing at either 5:56 a.m. EDT or 7:32 a.m. EDT with Atlantis rolling out on Kennedy Space Center’s Runway 15 to conclude the Space Shuttle Program.

If for some reason Atlantis isn’t able to return to Florida, the current plan calls for the shuttle to remain in orbit until Friday since no landing opportunities are currently considered for Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The first landing opportunity comes on orbit 200, and the second on revolution number 201.

At landing, 852 crew members will have flown aboard Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour across 135 missions.

Combined, the shuttles will have flown for 1,323 days and completed 21,030 orbits. In 37 missions to the International Space Station, they will have spent nearly 40 weeks at the orbiting outpost.