Wed, Jun 29, 2011
Last STS Launch Scheduled For July 8th
Space shuttle Atlantis' Commander Chris Ferguson and his three
crewmates are scheduled to begin a 12-day mission to the
International Space Station with a launch at 1126 EDT on July 8,
from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-135 mission is
the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program.
The launch date was announced Tuesday at the conclusion of a
flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA
and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the
mission and determined the shuttle and station's equipment, support
systems and personnel are ready.
Atlantis' STS-135 mission will deliver the Raffaello
multi-purpose logistics module filled with supplies and spare parts
to sustain space station operations after the shuttles are
retired. The mission also will fly the Robotic Refueling
Mission (RRM), an experiment designed to demonstrate and test the
tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically refuel
satellites in space - even satellites not designed to be serviced.
The crew also will return an ammonia pump that recently failed on
the station. Engineers want to understand why the pump failed and
improve designs for future spacecraft.
The crew consists of Commander Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and
Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. They are
scheduled to arrive at Kennedy on Monday, July 4, for final launch
preparations.
STS-135 is the 135th shuttle mission, Atlantis' 33rd flight and
the 37th shuttle mission to the station.
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