Discovery's liftoff was delayed months due to the cracks, but eventually launched flawlessly on Feb. Officials also checked modifications to Atlantis' external fuel tank, reinforcements designed to prevent the type of cracks found on the shuttle Discovery's tank before its own final launch earlier this year. The leaky valve was replaced and technicians at the launch pad completed a successful test on the new valve, NASA officials said. They also checked on repairs to a main engine fuel valve on Atlantis that leaked during a recent fueling test on June 15. The teams did a tremendous job today of staying on point, getting ready for the mission, and getting ready for the launch." The cargo coming up on this flight is really mandatory. This flight is incredibly important to the space station.
"We spent quite a bit of time going over each activity going on on this flight. "We had a very thorough review," said Bill Gersteinmaier, NASA's space operations chief. "We're really looking forward to achieving this mission, putting the station where it needs to be and finishing strong with STS-135," Mike Moses, chair of the shuttle's mission management team, said in a news briefing this afternoon.ĭuring today's meeting, top NASA shuttle officials reviewed outstanding issues from the agency's previous spaceflight - the shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission - to make sure they won't impact Atlantis' flight.
It will be NASA's 135th shuttle mission since the program began 30 years ago. The next planned launch on the Eastern Range is a Delta IV launching the second next generation GPS Satellite (GPS-IIF) July 14.Atlantis' 12-day mission will deliver vital spare parts to the space station to help keep the orbiting lab going after the shuttle era ends. Finally, we wish the crew of Atlantis a safe, successful mission and will be ready to support their landing in the days ahead" General Wilson said. "We're all saddened to see this historic era come to an end, but we look forward with hope and enthusiasm for what lies ahead in our nation's human spaceflight program here on the Space Coast. Ed Wilson, Commander, 45th Space Wing and Director, Eastern Range. The partnership between the Air Force and NASA here on the Eastern Range in support of human spaceflight has truly set the standard for others to follow around the world," said Brig. "It's been our honor to support the Space Shuttle program the past three decades.
The 12-day mission has one space walk planned. The mission also is flying a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. The four-person crew, consisting of commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus, took part in the historic flight.Ītlantis is carrying the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The wing also provided its vast network of radar, telemetry, optical and communications instrumentation to facilitate a safe launch on the Eastern Range.
(EDT) from Space Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.Ī combined team of military, government civilians and contractors from across the 45th Space Wing provided vital support to the STS-135 mission, including weather forecasts, launch and range operations, safety and public affairs. Air Force's 45th Space Wing provided flawless Eastern Range support for NASA's successful launch of the final flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis today and the final Space Shuttle flight in history.
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