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N0KFQ > TODAY 21.07.16 16:14l 81 Lines 4096 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 1840_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Jul 21
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 160721/1405Z 1840@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.12
2011
NASA's final space shuttle mission comes to an end
On this day in 2011, NASA's space shuttle program completes its
final, and 135th, mission, when the shuttle Atlantis lands at
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the program's 30-year
history, its five orbiters_Columbia, Challenger, Discovery,
Atlantis and Endeavour_carried more than 350 people into space
and flew more than 500 million miles, and shuttle crews conducted
important research, serviced the Hubble Space Telescope and
helped in the construction of the International Space Station,
among other activities. NASA retired the shuttles to focus on a
deep-space exploration program that could one day send astronauts
to asteroids and Mars.
In January 1972, two-and-a-half years after America put the first
man on the moon in July 1969, President Richard Nixon publicly
announced that NASA would develop a space transportation system
featuring a space vehicle capable of shuttling "repeatedly from
Earth to orbit and back." Nine years later, on April 12, 1981, at
Kennedy Space Center, the first shuttle, Columbia, lifted off on
its inaugural mission. Over the course of the next 54 hours, the
two astronauts aboard NASA's first reusable spacecraft
successfully tested all its systems and orbited the Earth 37
times before landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In 1983, a second shuttle, Challenger, was put into service. It
flew nine missions before breaking apart shortly after the launch
of its 10th mission, on January 28, 1986. All seven crew members
were killed, including high school teacher Christa McAuliffe, who
had won a national contest to be the first U.S. civilian to fly
aboard the space shuttle. In the aftermath of the disaster, the
shuttle program was grounded until 1988.
The program's third shuttle, Discovery, made its first flight in
1984. Atlantis entered the fleet in 1985, and was followed by
Endeavour in 1992. The shuttle program experienced its second
major disaster on February 1, 2003, when just minutes before
Columbia was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center and
conclude its 28th mission, it broke apart while re-entering the
atmosphere over Texas. All seven astronauts on board perished.
Afterward, the shuttle fleet was grounded until July 2005, when
Discovery was launched on the program's 114th mission. By the
time Discovery completed its 39th and final mission (the most of
any shuttle) in March 2011, it had flown 148 million miles, made
5,830 orbits of Earth and spent 365 days in space. Endeavour
completed its 25th and final mission in June 2011. That mission
was commanded by Capt. Mark Kelly, husband of former U.S.
congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
On July 8, 2011, Atlantis was launched on its 33rd mission. With
four crew members aboard, Atlantis flew thousands of pounds of
supplies and extra parts to the International Space Station; it
was the 37th shuttle flight to make the trip. Thirteen days
later, on July 21, Atlantis touched down at Kennedy Space Center
at 5:57 a.m., after a journey of more than 5 million miles,
during which it orbited the Earth 200 times. Upon landing, the
flight's commander, Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson, said, "Mission
complete, Houston. After serving the world for over 30 years, the
space shuttle has earned its place in history, and it's come to a
final stop." During its 26 years in service, Atlantis flew almost
126 million miles, circled Earth 4,848 times and spent 307 days
in space. The estimated price tag for the entire space shuttle
program, from development to retirement, was $209 billion.
After completing their final missions, the orbiters were sent to
museums around the country: Discovery went to the National Air
and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia,
Endeavour to California Science Center in Los Angeles and
Atlantis to Kennedy Space Center. A space shuttle prototype, the
Enterprise, is now housed at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
in New York.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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