Stellary Starry Universe

After completing the STS-135 mission, space shuttle Atlantis is rolled over to the Orbiter Processing Facility shortly after landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility. Atlantis and the STS-135 crew completed a 13-day mission to the International Space Station and the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, early Thursday morning, July 21, 2011, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Overall, Atlantis spent 307 days in space and traveled nearly 126 million miles during its 33 flights. Atlantis, the fourth orbiter built, launched on its first mission on Oct. 3, 1985. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Workers measured and marked in bright red the letters “MLG” at the spot where space shuttle Atlantis’ main landing gear came to rest after the vehicle’s final return from space. Securing the space shuttle fleet’s place in history on the STS-135 mission, Atlantis safely and successfully rounded out NASA’s Space Shuttle Program on the Shuttle Landing Facility’s Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Main gear touchdown was at 5:57:00 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 5:57:20 a.m., and wheelstop at 5:57:54 a.m. On the 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-135 delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which has spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,769 miles. Image Credit: NASA/Kyle Herring

NASA Kennedy Space Center worker Dwayne Hutcheson sweeps the Launch Control Center lobby floor in preparation for the post-launch tradition of corn bread and beans after the successful launch of the space shuttle Atlantis from Launch Pad 39A on Friday, July 8, 2011. The launch of Atlantis on the STS-135 mission is the final flight of the shuttle program. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

This is one of a series of images taken by the station crew of space shuttle Atlantis in Earth orbit. Seen at the rear of the cargo bay is the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module, packed with supplies and spare parts for the orbiting outpost. The shuttle ‘posed’ for photographs and visual surveys and performed a back-flip for the rendezvous pitch maneuver. A 400 millimeter lens was used to capture this particular series of images. Image Credit: NASA

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden congratulates Launch Director Michael Leinbach, facing camera, in Firing Room Four of the Launch Control Center shortly after the space shuttle Atlantis launched on Friday, July 8, 2011, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of Atlantis on the STS-135 mission is the final flight of the shuttle program. STS-135 is slated to be a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls