July 8th - on this day in 2011, the final launch of the Space Shuttle program took place when Atlantis lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. The final Space Shuttle crew included only four astronauts: Commander Christopher Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. On this last mission the Space Shuttle carried 12,890 kg of payload mass to the orbital outpost. | NASAS

On July 8, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis launched on its final mission. Atlantis was the last of NASA's space shuttles to fly into space. It went on 33 missions since 1985, ferrying astronauts to and from space stations, and even doing some top-secret missions for the U.S. military. Mission STS-135 and its 4-member crew brought much-needed supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. It landed for a final time on July 21, 2011. By the end of this final mission, Atlantis had trav

5 years ago today, Atlantis landed in Florida, ending NASA’s space shuttle program after captivating the world for 30 years. http://nbcnews.to/29YcCkh | NBC News

583K views · 4.2K reactions | VIDEO: The astronauts' perspective of landing the space shuttle Atlantis as recorded on #STS81 that began on this day in 1997 | Spaceflight Now | Facebook