By Ben Evans, on April 28th, 2019
The Magellan spacecraft departs the payload bay on STS-30. At just 97 hours, this mission was the shortest flight in Atlantis’ entire career and the second-shortest operational mission in shuttle program history. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de
Thirty years ago, this week, shuttle Atlantis sat patiently primed on Pad 39B at the Kennedy […]
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By Ben Evans, on February 3rd, 2019
Spacewalker Rex Walheim works to outfit the exterior of Europe’s Columbus lab during STS-122. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de
Launching to space is undoubtedly an exciting and terrifying experience, all rolled into one, as millions of pounds of thrust combine in a controlled explosion to blast a group of humans beyond Earth’s […]
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By Ben Evans, on December 9th, 2018
Atlantis roars to orbit on the morning of 2 December 1988, 30 years ago today. Photo Credit: NASA
Thirty years ago, at 9:30 a.m. EST on 2 December 1988, Atlantis rocketed into crystal-blue Florida skies to begin the second shuttle mission in the wake of the Challenger tragedy. Two months earlier, her sister […]
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By Ben Evans, on February 18th, 2018
Spacewalker Rex Walheim works to outfit the exterior of Europe’s Columbus lab during STS-122, which launched ten years ago, this week. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de
Ten years ago, this month, Space Shuttle Atlantis sprang from historic Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, to kickstart the final phase […]
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By Ben Evans, on November 26th, 2017 Atlantis roars into the night at 7:29 p.m. EST on 26 November 1985. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de
More than three decades ago, on the evening of 26 November 1985, shuttle Atlantis roared into the night to begin the week-long voyage of Mission 61B. Her seven-member crew—Commander Brewster Shaw, Pilot Bryan O’Connor, […]
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By Ben Evans, on June 4th, 2017
John “Danny” Olivas is just barely visible at center-right, near the deploying Photovoltaic Radiator (PVR) on the S-3/S-4 truss during the first spacewalk of STS-117. Photo Credit: NASA
Ten years ago, this week, Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on what would turn out to be the longest mission of her storied career, lasting almost […]
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By Ben Evans, on June 3rd, 2017
Atlantis launches on her longest space mission on 8 June 2007. Photo Credit: NASA
Ten years have now passed since STS-117 literally changed the face of the International Space Station (ISS), delivering and activating a new set of power-producing solar arrays, batteries and radiators. Aboard shuttle Atlantis in June 2007 for what would […]
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By Ben Evans, on May 14th, 2017
The pressurized modules and solar arrays of Mir, as viewed through the windows of Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-84. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de
Two decades ago, tonight, the Florida sky and much of the eastern seaboard of the United States, was lit up and shaken awake by the rousing launch of […]
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By Ben Evans, on May 13th, 2017
Atlantis roars into the night on 15 May 1997, kicking off her sixth visit to Russia’s Mir space station. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de
Twenty years ago, this week, Space Shuttle Atlantis roared into the night, creating a new dawn across the marshy landscape of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). “We just […]
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By Ben Evans, on April 16th, 2017
The S-0 truss is maneuvered by Canadarm2 towards its installation position on the U.S. Destiny lab. Photo Credit: NASA
Jerry Ross was already a record-setter before ever launching on his final space mission, STS-110, aboard shuttle Atlantis, on 8 April 2002. For more than three years, he had been the United States’ most […]
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