Space Shuttle Atlantis: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Short description|Retired ~~NASA~~Space ~~orbiter~~Shuttle ~~shuttle~~orbiter (1985–2011)}}

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| name = ''Atlantis''

| image = STS132 Atlantis undocking2 (cropped).jpg

| image_alt = Top view of a spaceplane in space.~~she also passed out on the moon~~

| caption = ''Atlantis'' in orbit in 2010, during STS-132

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| orbits = 4,848 around Earth

| fate = [[Space Shuttle retirement|Retired]]

| location = {{Ubl|[[Kennedy Space Center ~~Visitor Complex|KSC~~ Visitor Complex]]|[[Merritt Island, Florida|Merritt Island]], [[Florida]]}}

| class = [[Space Shuttle orbiter]]

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}}

'''Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''''' (Orbiter Vehicle designation: '''OV‑104''') is a retired [[Space Shuttle orbiter]] vehicle which belongs to [[NASA]], the [[spaceflight]] and [[space exploration]] agency of the United States.<ref name="ov104">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/atlantis-info.html|title=Space Shuttle Overview: Atlantis (OV-104)|access-date=November 6, 2007 |publisher=NASA|year=2007|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903220027/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/atlantis-info.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> ''Atlantis'' was manufactured by the [[Rockwell International]] company in [[Southern California]] and was delivered to the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Eastern [[Florida]] in April 1985. ''Atlantis'' is also the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts132/100511atlantis/|title=Respecting Atlantis as the shuttle faces retirement|author=Justin Ray|publisher=Spaceflight Now|date=May 11, 2010|access-date=May 13, 2010|archive-date=February 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203202308/https://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts132/100511atlantis/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/Features/atlantis_25_year_career.html |title=Space Shuttle Atlantis Wraps Up 25-year Career|author=Peter W. Merlin|publisher=NASA|date=May 20, 2010|access-date=July 25, 2010|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304221649/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/Features/atlantis_25_year_career.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> Its maiden flight was [[STS-51-J]] made from October 3 to 7, 1985.

''Atlantis'' embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, [[STS-135]], on July 8, 2011. [[STS-134]] by [[Space Shuttle Endeavour|''Endeavour'']] was expected to be the final flight before STS-135 was authorized in October 2010. STS-135 took advantage of the processing for the STS-335 [[Launch on Need]] mission that would have been necessary if STS-134's crew became stranded in orbit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacenews.com/civil/101119-extra-flights-needed-hedge-cots-delays.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120523184328/http://www.spacenews.com/civil/101119-extra-flights-needed-hedge-cots-delays.html|archive-date=May 23, 2012|title=Bolden Says Extra Shuttle Flight Needed As Hedge Against Additional COTS Delays|first=Amy|last=Svitak|publisher=Space News International|date=November 19, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref> ''Atlantis'' landed for the final time at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011.

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By the end of its final mission, ''Atlantis'' had orbited the [[Earth]] a total of 4,848 times, traveling nearly {{cvt|126000000|mi|km}}, which is more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the [[Moon]].

''Atlantis'' is named after [[RV Atlantis|RV ''Atlantis'']], a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the [[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]] from 1930 to 1966.<ref>{{cite web|title=Space Shuttle Atlantis Orbitor Fleet|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/orbitersatl.html|access-date=September 23, 2008|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903220027/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/orbitersatl.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

The space shuttle is now on display at the [[Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex]].

== Construction milestones ==

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! style="background:#efefef;" | Date

! style="background:#efefef;" | Milestone<ref>{{cite web|title=Atlantis (OV‑103)|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/atlantis-info.html|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903220027/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/atlantis-info.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

| January 29, 1979

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[[File:STS-132 Atlantis at ISS 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|''Atlantis'' docked to the [[International Space Station]] during STS-132 mission]]

During the launch of [[STS-27]] in 1988, a piece of insulation shed from the right solid rocket booster struck the underside of the vehicle, severely damaging over 700 tiles and removing one tile altogether.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hartsfield |first=Tom |date=August 12, 2022 |title=How the Space Shuttle program nearly ended in disaster |url=https://bigthink.com/the-past/space-shuttle-program-near-disaster/ |access-date=August 19, 2022 |website=Big Think |language=en-US}}</ref> The crew were instructed to use the remote manipulator system to survey the condition of the underside of the right wing, ultimately finding substantial tile damage. Due to the classified nature of the mission, the only images transferred to the [[mission control center]] were encrypted and of extremely poor quality. Mission control personnel deemed the damage to be "lights and shadows" and instructed the crew to proceed with the mission as usual, infuriating many of the crew. Upon landing, Atlantis became the single-most-damaged shuttle to successfully land. The survival of the crew is attributed to a steel [[L band]] antenna plate which was positioned directly under the missing tile.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890010807&hterms=TM-100355|title=STS-27R OV-104 Orbiter TPS damage review team, volume 1|last=Thomas|first=John|date=February 1, 1989|publisher=NASA|website=NTRS NASA Technical Reports Servers}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> A similar situation would eventually lead to the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|loss of the shuttle ''Columbia'' in 2003]], albeit on the more critical reinforced carbon-carbon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-107.html|title=NASA – STS-107|last=KSC|first=Lynda Warnock|website=nasa.gov|access-date=June 17, 2019|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206060058/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-107.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

During [[STS-37]] in 1991, ''Atlantis'' deployed the [[Compton Gamma Ray Observatory]]. Beginning in 1995 with [[STS-71]], ''Atlantis'' made seven straight flights to the former [[Russia]]n [[space station]] ''[[Mir]]'' as part of the [[~~Shuttle-~~Shuttle–Mir program|Shuttle–''Mir'' ~~Program~~program]]. STS-71 marked a number of firsts in human spaceflight: 100th U.S. crewed space flight; first U.S. Shuttle-Russian Space Station ''Mir'' docking and joint on-orbit operations; and first on-orbit change-out of shuttle crew.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-71.html|title=STS-71|publisher=NASA|access-date=July 25, 2010}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> When linked, ''Atlantis'' and ''Mir'' together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time.

[[File:Space_Shuttle_Atlantis_launches_on_STS-132.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|''Atlantis'' heads toward Earth orbit at the beginning of [[STS-132]]]]

''Atlantis'' delivered several vital components for the construction of the [[International Space Station]] (ISS). During the February 2001 mission [[STS-98]] to the ISS, ''Atlantis'' delivered the [[Destiny (ISS module)|Destiny Module]], the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the ISS.<ref>{{cite web |~~url~~author=~~http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts98_land_010220.html~~Halvorson |first=Todd |title=Destiny Fulfilled: Atlantis Ends Mission With Safe Touchdown~~|author=Todd~~ ~~Halvorson~~|~~publisher~~url=~~Space~~http://www.space.com~~|access-date=July~~/missionlaunches/missions/sts98_land_010220.html ~~25, 2010~~|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523234202/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts98_land_010220.html |archive-date=May 23, 2009 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |publisher=Space.com}}</ref> The five-hour 25-minute third spacewalk performed by astronauts [[~~Robert L. Curbeam|~~Robert Curbeam]] and [[Thomas D.David Jones|Thomas Jones]] during STS-98 marked NASA's 100th extra vehicular activity in space.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts98_eva3pm_010214.html|title=Astronauts Cap 100th Spacewalk With Successful Disaster Drill|author=Todd Halvorson|publisher=Space.com|date=February 14, 2010 |access-date=July 25, 2010}}</ref> The [[Quest Joint Airlock]], was flown and installed to the ISS by ''Atlantis'' during the mission [[STS-104]] in July 2001.<ref>{{cite web |~~url~~author=~~http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage7a/010715fd4/~~Harwood |first=William |date=July 15, 2001 |title=Airlock marks milestone in quest to assemble Alpha~~|author=William~~ ~~Harwood~~|~~publisher~~url=~~Spaceflight~~http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage7a/010715fd4/ ~~Now|date=July 15, 2001~~|access-date=July 25, 2010 |publisher=Spaceflight Now}}</ref> The successful installation of the airlock gave on-board space station crews the ability to stage repair and maintenance spacewalks outside the ISS using U.S. [[Extravehicular Mobility Unit|EMU]] or Russian [[Orlan space suit]]s. The first mission flown by ''Atlantis'' after the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster]] was [[STS-115]], conducted during September 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/115_mission_overview.html|title=STS-115: A Mission to Build On|publisher=NASA|date=September 28, 2006|access-date=July 25, 2010|archive-date=July 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726190519/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/115_mission_overview.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> The mission carried the [[ISS Truss|P3/P4 truss]] segments and solar arrays to the ISS. On ISS assembly flight [[STS-122]] in February 2008, ''Atlantis'' delivered the [[Columbus (ISS module)|Columbus laboratory]] to the ISS.<ref>{{cite web |author=Mosher |first=Dave |date=February 7, 2008 |title=Europeans Celebrate Successful Launch of Science Lab |url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080207-sts122-columbus-launch.html~~|title=Europeans~~ ~~Celebrate Successful Launch of Science Lab|author=Dave Mosher |publisher=Space.com|date=February 7, 2008~~|access-date=July 25, 2010 |website=Space.com}}</ref> Columbus laboratory is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESAAYI0VMOC_iss_0.html|title=Columbus laboratory|author=European Space Agency|access-date=July 25, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:STS-132 Liftoff Space Shuttle Atlantis.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=21|STS-132 Space Shuttle launch]]

In May 2009 ''Atlantis'' flew a seven-member crew to the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] for its Servicing Mission 4, [[STS-125]].<ref>{{cite web |author= |date=May 29, 2009 |title=Mission Accomplished: Leaving Hubble Better Than Ever |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts125/launch/125_overview.html |~~title~~url-status=~~Mission~~dead ~~Accomplished~~|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026115041/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts125/launch/125_overview.html ~~Leaving Hubble Better Than Ever|author=NASA~~|archive-date=~~May~~October 2926, ~~2009~~2012 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |website=NASA}}</ref> The mission was a success, with the crew completing five spacewalks ~~totalling~~totaling 37 hours to install new cameras, batteries, a gyroscope and other components to the telescope. This was the final mission not to rendezvous with the [[International Space Station|ISS]].

The longest mission flown using ''Atlantis'' was [[STS-117]], which lasted almost 14 days in June 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/news/STS-117-30.html |title=STS-117 MCC Status Report #30|publisher=NASA|date=June 22, 2007|access-date=July 25, 2010|archive-date=November 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120185309/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/news/STS-117-30.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> During STS-117, ''Atlantis''{{'}} crew added a new starboard truss segment and solar array pair (the [[Integrated Truss Structure|S3/S4]] truss), folded the P6 array in preparation for its relocation and performed four spacewalks. ''Atlantis'' was not equipped to take advantage of the [[Electrical system of the International Space Station|Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System]] so missions could not be extended by making use of power provided by ISS.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts122/interview_love.html |title=Preflight Interview: Stan Love, Mission Specialist|publisher=NASA|date=November 19, 2007}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

During the [[STS-129]] post-flight interview on November 16, 2009, shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach said that ''Atlantis'' officially beat [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']] for the record low amount of interim problem reports, with a total of just 54 listed since returning from STS-125. Leinbach added, "It is due to the team and the hardware processing. They just did a great job. The record will probably never be broken again in the history of the Space Shuttle Program, so congratulations to them."{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Leinbach made a similar report during a post-launch interview on May 14, 2010, saying that there were a total of 46 listed from STS-129 to STS-132.

== Orbiter maintenance down periods ==

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==Flights listing==

{| class="wikitable sticky-header"

~~|- class="is-sticky"~~

! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | #

! scope="col" width=18% style="background:#efefef;" | Date

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! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Landing location

! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Duration

! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Distance Traveled<ref name="press">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/451029main_sts132_press_kit.pdf|title=Space Shuttle Mission STS-132 Press Kit|author=NASA|date=May 2010|access-date=May 8, 2010|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225055516/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/451029main_sts132_press_kit.pdf%20|url-status=dead}}</ref>

! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Notes

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| 10 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, 13 seconds

| {{convert|4490138|mi|km}}

| International Space Station resupply and construction ([[ExPRESS Logistics Carrier|ELC-1/ELC-2]]). STS-129 was the first flight of an [[ExPRESS Logistics Carrier]] and focused on staging spare components outside the space station.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/launch/129_overview.html|title=Mission STS-129: Delivering the Goods|author=Elaine M. Marconi|publisher=NASA.gov|date=December 4, 2009|access-date=July 25, 2010|archive-date=October 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025070812/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/launch/129_overview.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The mission included three spacewalks.

| 32

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| The Hubble Space Telescope aboard ''Atlantis'' during the [[STS-125]] mission

|[[File:STS-135 begins takeoff.jpg|300x125px]]

|[[File:STS-135 landing cropped.jpg|300x125px]]

|[[File:Atlantis welcome home ceremony outside the OPF July 22.png|300x125px]]

|[[File:Atlantis at KSC Visitor Complex.JPG|300x125px]]

|| ''Atlantis''<nowiki>'</nowiki> final launch at the beginning of the [[STS-135]] mission

| ''Atlantis''<nowiki>'</nowiki> final landing at the end of the [[STS-135]] mission

| A welcome home ceremony is held for ''Atlantis'' at the [[Orbiter Processing Facility]] following the STS-135 mission

|''Atlantis'' in its final exhibit display at [[Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex]]

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<nowiki>*</nowiki> Mission canceled following the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|''Challenger'' disaster]].

==In media==

* The 1986 film ''[[SpaceCamp]]'' involves a crew of students at [[United States Space Camp]] that are accidentally launched into space on-board ''Atlantis''.

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* ''Atlantis'' is the setting and title of episode 2 of season 1 of the [[Quantum Leap (2022 TV series)|revived continuation of the TV series ''Quantum Leap'']], which features a fictional mission set between the real 1997 and 2000 missions (STS-86 and STS-101).

* ''Atlantis'' was featured in the British program ''[[Chucklevision]]''{{'}}s episode "Kidnapped", in which Paul & Barry Chuckle were looking for Dan the Van but a lady redirected them to the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''; footage from [[STS-45]] was used.

*A dual finned space shuttle inspired by ''Atlantis'' appeared in the 2010 anime movie ''[[Metal Fight Beyblade vs the Sun: Sol Blaze, the Scorching Hot Invader]].''

==See also==