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More than 30 years later, when Space Shuttle Atlantis rolled to a stop on the runway July 21, 2011, the shuttle program officially came to a close.Īfter the end of shuttle era, American astronauts were forced to pay for rides aboard Russian rockets - a situation many found galling. The first orbital test flight, STS-1, carried out by Space Shuttle Columbia, blasted off Apfrom historic launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
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The Space Shuttle Program eventually flew 135 missions, making it the core of American crewed spaceflight efforts for nearly four decades. Nearly a decade later, the Space Shuttle was born. But during that same year, NASA was already beginning the design and develop their next generation of crew-carrying craft. We're going to try to make it a celebration of the tremendous crowning achievements that have occurred.In 1972, Apollo 17 carried the last batch of astronauts to the lunar surface. But we're going to try to keep it upbeat.
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"It's going to be an emotional moment for a lot of people that dedicated their lives to the shuttle program for 30 years. Challenger lifted off on its maiden voyage in April 1983 for the sixth shuttle mission. Sitting on a rolling platform, the space shuttle Challenger emerges from the mist at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it heads toward the launch pad, just visible in the distance, in November 1982. We're going to try to make it a celebration of the tremendous crowning achievements that have occurred." "The space shuttle has been with us at the heart and soul of the human spaceflight program for about 30 years, and it's a little sad to see it go away," STS-135 mission commander Christopher Ferguson recently told reporters in a televised interview from the ISS. woman and the first African American into space, deployed famous satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and delivered valuable parts and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). During the past three decades, shuttles carried the first U.S. This shot is among those chosen by National Geographic photo editors as the most unforgettable pictures from the entire shuttle program.Įven with the tragic losses of Challenger and Columbia, the space shuttle has become an icon among U.S. When the space shuttle Atlantis lands on Thursday, it will wrap up STS-135, the final shuttle mission in the U.S.