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STS-135: Shuttle’s Final Launch and the Beginning of a New Era

STS-135 launch
Space Shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission launched from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on July 8, 2011 and was the last space shuttle mission.

When space shuttle Atlantis launched in July 2011 on the STS-135 mission carrying the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module and delivering supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station, it was the orbiter’s final flight and the end of an era. Chris Ferguson commanded the mission and Doug Hurley was its pilot. Also aboard were Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus.

But, we at NASA haven’t been idle seen then. We’ve been working on a new generation of spacecraft to take us to the station and deeper into our Solar System. Learn about Artemis, our mission to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. And, the agency’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems capable of carrying crews to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA