Space Shuttle Atlantis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids AtlantisOV‑104 |
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Atlantis in orbit in 2010, during STS-132
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OV designation | OV-104 |
Country | United States |
Contract award | 29 January 1979 |
Named after | RV Atlantis |
Status | Retired. Displayed at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. |
First flight | STS-51-J 3–7 October 1985 |
Last flight | STS-135 8–21 July 2011 |
No. of missions | 33 |
Crew members | 207 |
Time spent in space | 306 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes, 43 seconds as of STS-135 |
No. of orbits | 4,848 |
Distance travelled | 125,935,769 miles (202,673,974 km) as of STS-135 |
Satellites deployed | 14 |
Mir dockings | 7 |
ISS dockings | 12 |
Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV‑104) is a Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Constructed by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985, Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J from 3 to 7 October 1985.
Atlantis embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, STS-135, on 8 July 2011. STS-134 by Endeavour was expected to be the final flight before STS-135 was authorized in October 2010. STS-135 took advantage of the processing for the STS-335 Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if STS-134's crew became stranded in orbit. Atlantis landed for the final time at the Kennedy Space Center on 21 July 2011.
By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 mi (203,000,000 km) or more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Atlantis is named after RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.
Images for kids
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Space Shuttle Atlantis as it transits the Sun
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Atlantis docked to the International Space Station during STS-132 mission.
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Space Shuttle Atlantis docked to the ISS for the final time.
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NASA administrator Charlie Bolden announces that Atlantis will remain at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on permanent exhibition.
See also
In Spanish: Transbordador espacial Atlantis para niños