Liftoff STS-125: 10/--/08 at --:-- a.m. EST
expected last Mission for Shuttle Atlantis
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Im one of the fleet of space shuttles belonging to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). I..m the fourth operational shuttle built. Following the destruction of Challenger and Columbia, I..m one of the three fully operational shuttles remaining in the fleet.My siblings are Discovery and Endeavour.
STS-125 is a planned Space Shuttle mission to be flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, targeted to launch no earlier than August 28, 2008.STS-125 will serve as the fifth and final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope, with Atlantis carrying two new instruments to the orbital observatory, in addition to a replacement Fine Guidance Sensor and extra gyroscopes and batteries to allow the telescope to continue to function through 2013. The crew will also install a new thermal blanket layer to provide improved insulation, and a "Soft-Capture mechanism" to aid in the safe de-orbiting of the spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan.
Otherwise known as Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4 (HST-SM4), the mission will mark the thirtieth flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis, the last planned manned mission to the space telescope, and the final solo flight of a Space Shuttle Orbiter, in that all following Space Shuttle missions will involve a docking with the International Space Station.[4] The mission will be the first solo flight of Atlantis since STS-66 in 1994, and its completion will leave nine flights remaining in the Space Shuttle program until its end in 2010, including two Contingency Logistic Flights.
Since Atlantis will be unable to dock with the International Space Station in the event of her heat shield becoming damaged upon launch, the mission will require Endeavour to be ready on launch pad 39B for immediate flight on the STS-400 Launch On Need (LON) rescue mission throughout Atlantis' mission. Due to the logistics of STS-125, Endeavour will require rollout two weeks before Atlantis. It will be the final time launch pads 39A and 39B are occupied with shuttles at the same time.
Last Mission: STS-122
STS-122 is a planned space shuttle mission expected to use the Space Shuttle Atlantis. This flight will mark the 24th shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The primary objectives of STS-122 are to deliver the European built Columbus module to the station, and to return Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel Tani to earth. NASA is currently evaluating an ISS request to move the launch date to November.
Research laboratory which is permanantly attached to the International Space Station and provides internal payload accommodation for experiments in the field of multidisciplinary research into material science, fluid physics and life science. In addition, an external payload facility hosts experiments and applications in the field of space science, Earth observation and technology.
Last Mission: STS-117 is the last Space Shuttle mission, a planned flight for Space Shuttle Atlantis, scheduled for launch on June 8, 2007.
This mission has deliver to the International Space Station (ISS) the second starboard truss segment (the S3/S4 Truss) and its associated energy systems, including a set of solar arrays.
The crew's seven astronauts have install the new truss segment, retract one set of solar arrays, and unfold the new set on the starboard side of the station. Like all of the remaining space shuttle missions, launch is planned for pad 39A.
Atlantis was originally scheduled to begin her rollover to launch pad 39A (the first Shuttle launch at 39A in four years) on February 14, but due to erratic chamber pressure readings on the right-hand SRB, the rollout has been delayed to at least the morning of Thursday, February 15.
Despite the issues with Atlantis herself, however, the rest of the pre-launch preparations continue to proceed according to plan, with the payload canister, containing the S3/S4 Truss and a set of solar arrays, arriving at the launch pad at 2:54 am EST on Monday, February 12. The canister lift began at 5:40 am EST the same morning.
