Historic Shuttle Touchdowns

Depicts different space shuttles nearing touchdown, highlighting the excitement and precision of their landings at NASA's facilities.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at Edwards AFB on June 22, 2007, to conclude International Space Station construction and supply mission STS-117.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at Edwards AFB on June 22, 2007, to conclude International Space Station construction and supply mission STS-117.
156 assets in this story
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The Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise (OV-101), mounted on its NASA 747-123 carrier aircraft, arrives at the airport. The Enterprise will be on public display to celebrate the Air and Space Bicentennial. Base: Dulles International Airport State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Endeavour passes the air traffic control tower (left) next to the Shuttle Landing Facility as it touches down on runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after traveling nearly 5.3 million miles on mission STS-118. Behind Endeavour is the Vehicle Assembly Building. The Space Shuttle Endeavour crew, led by Commander Scott Kelly, completes a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-118 mission began Aug. 8 and installed a new gyroscope, an external spare parts platform and another truss segment to the expanding station. Endeavour's main gear touched down at 12:32:16 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 12:32:29 p.m. and wheel stop was at 12:33:20 p.m. Endeavour landed on orbit 201. STS-118 was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, the 20th flight for Endeavour and the second of four missions planned for 2007. This was the 65th landing of an orbiter at Kennedy.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Orbiter creeps toward the VAB during its tow from the OPF.
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STS122-S-084 (20 Feb. 2008) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis' drag chute is deployed as the spacecraft rolls toward wheels stop on runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, concluding the 13-day STS-122 mission. Onboard are NASA astronauts Steve Frick, commander; Alan Poindexter, pilot; Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Daniel Tani, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Hans Schlegel, all mission specialists. Main gear touchdown was 9:07:10 a.m. (EST). Nose gear touchdown was 9:07:20 a.m. Wheel stop was at 9:08:08 a.m. Mission elapsed time was 12 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes and 44 seconds. During the mission, Atlantis' crew installed the new Columbus laboratory, leaving a larger space station and one with increased science capabilities. The Columbus Research Module adds nearly 1,000 cubic feet of habitable volume and affords room for 10 experiment racks, each an independent science lab.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With drag chute deployed, the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery touches down on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at 7:07:59 a.m. EDT Aug. 19 to complete the 11-day, 20-hour and 27-minute-long STS-85 mission. At the controls are Commander Curtis L. Brown, Jr. and Pilot Kent V. Rominger. The first landing opportunity on Aug. 18 was waved off due to the potential for ground fog. Also onboard the orbiter are Payload Commander N. Jan Davis, Mission Specialist Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson and Payload Specialist Bjarni V. Tryggvason. During the 86th Space Shuttle mission, the crew deployed the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the AtmosphereShuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2) free-flyer to conduct research on the Earths middle atmosphere, retrieving it on flight day 9. The crew also conducted investigations with the Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD), Technology Applications and Science-1 (T
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TOUCHDOWN! -- The Space Shuttle Columbia touches down on lakebed runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to conclude the first orbital shuttle mission, April 14, 1981.
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Atlantis is towed from KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility to the Orbiter Processing Facility. Atlantis returned from California atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (seen in the background, left) after its Feb. 19 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, concluding mission STS-98. The ferry flight began March 1; unfavorable weather conditions kept it on the ground at Altus AFB, Okla., until it could return to Florida. In the Orbiter Processing Facility, Atlantis will be prepared for mission STS-104, the 10th construction flight to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch June 8
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Shuttle Challenger lands on Runway 17 at Edwards at end of 51-B mission. The photo is a rear view of the shuttle landing gear touching the runway, with clouds of dirt trailing behind it. The nose gear is still in the air (071); Side view of the Challenger landing gear touching the runway (072).
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With drag chute unfurled, space shuttle Atlantis lands on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 11 days in space, completing the 4.5-million mile STS-129 mission on orbit 171.Main gear touchdown was at 9:44:23 a.m. EST. Nose gear touchdown was at 9:44:36 a.m., and wheels stop was at 9:45:05 a.m. Aboard Atlantis are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr.; and Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott who spent 87 days aboard the International Space Station. STS-129 is the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight on the manifest. On STS-129, the crew delivered 14 tons of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, including two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers containing spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year.
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The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis, with its drag chute deployed, rolls out on Runway 33 of KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at the conclusion of the nine-day STS-84 mission. The Shuttle Training Aircraft piloted by astronaut Kenneth D. Cockrell, acting deputy chief of the Astronaut Office, is flying above Atlantis. Main gear touchdown was at 9:27:44 EDT on May 24, 1997. The first landing opportunity was waved off because of low cloud cover. It was the 37th landing at KSC since the Shuttle program began in 1981, and the eighth consecutive landing at KSC. STS-84 was the sixth of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Atlantis was docked with the Mir for five days. STS-84 Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale replaced astronaut and Mir 23 crew member Jerry M. Linenger, who has been on the Russian space station since Jan. 15. Linenger returned to Earth on Atlantis with the rest of the STS-84 crew, Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen Mari
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Decembe 12, 2008 - After a three-day trip from California, the shuttle carrier aircraft and its piggyback passenger, Space Shuttle Endeavour, descend through the blue Florida skies toward a landing on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at the Kennedy Space Center.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour lowers its landing gear as it approaches Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The landing completes Endeavour's 16-day, 6.5-million mile journey on the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour landed on orbit 248. Main gear touchdown was at 10:48:08 a.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 10:48:21 a.m. and wheels stop was at 10:49:13 a.m. Endeavour delivered the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section to the International Space Station. The mission was the 29th flight to the station, the 23rd flight of Endeavour and the 127th in the Space Shuttle Program, as well as the 71st landing at Kennedy.
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The Shuttle Training Aircraft (top) seems to chase orbiter Discovery as it touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility after a successful mission of nearly nine days and 3.6 million miles. Main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. EST, landing on orbit 135. In the background, right, is the Vehicle Assembly Building. The STS-95 crew consists of Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA); and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The mission included research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the agi
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With workers accompanying it, Endeavour begins rolling to the Vehicle Assembly Building from the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2. In the VAB Endeavour will be stacked with its solid rocket boosters and external tank atop the Mobile Launcher Platform. Endeavour is scheduled to launch April 19 on mission STS-100, the ninth flight to the International Space Station
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DN-SC-86-00909. Base: Keflavik Country: Iceland (ISL)
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carrying space shuttle Discovery backs out of the Shuttle Landing Facility's mate-demate device at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet that was originally manufactured for commercial use and modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
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STS130-S-126 (21 Feb. 2010) --- Space shuttle Endeavour lands on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 14 days in space, completing the 5.7-million-mile STS-130 mission to the International Space Station on orbit 217. Main gear touchdown was at 10:20:31 p.m. (EST) on Feb. 21, 2010; followed by nose gear touchdown at 10:20:39 p.m. and wheels stop at 10:22:10 p.m. It was the 23rd night landing in shuttle history and the 17th at Kennedy. Aboard are NASA astronauts George Zamka, commander; Terry Virts, pilot; Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Kathryn Hire and Stephen Robinson, all mission specialists. During Endeavour's STS-130 mission, astronauts installed the Tranquility node, a module that provides additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to Tranquility is a Cupola with seven windows that provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and visiting spacecra
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA, top right, watches over space shuttle Atlantis as it touches down on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle approached from the southeast in a crystal-clear blue sky, giving the Space Coast quite a show. Landing was at 8 48 a.m. EDT, completing the 12-day STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the space station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis.
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STS077-S-012 (29 May 1996) --- As its drag chute is released on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the Space Shuttle Endeavour marks its return to Earth following a ten-day mission in space. Touchdown came at 7:09 a.m. (EDT), May 29, 1996. Leading the crew onboard was astronaut John H. Casper, mission commander. Other crew members were astronauts Curtis L. Brown, Jr., pilot; along with Daniel W. Bursch, Mario Runco, Jr., Andrew S. W. Thomas and Marc Garneau, all mission specialists. Garneau represents the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). During the approximately 10-day mission, the crew performed a variety of payload activities, including microgravity research aboard the Spacehab 4 Module, deployment and retrieval of the Spartan 207 and deployment and rendezvous with the Passive Aerodynamically-Stabilized Magnetically-Damped Satellite (PAMS).
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Fire Rescue Services vehicle, part of the long convoy that meets a space shuttle upon its return from space, stands by as Atlantis rolls to a stop on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Landing was at 8:48 a.m. EDT, completing the 12-day STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the International Space Station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop, makes a low-level pass over the Shuttle Landing Facility. Following behind the SCA-shuttle combination is a T-38 chase aircraft. After making several low-level passes over several locations on Florida's Space Coast the SCA-Shuttle will head west for its ferry flight to California.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.
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STS085-S-013 (19 August 1997) --- The drag chute of the Space Shuttle Discovery is fully deployed in this scene of the spacecraft's landing on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The landing, at 7:08 a.m. (EDT), August 19, 1997, marked the completion of a successful 12-day STS-85 mission. Onboard were astronauts Curtis L. Brown, Jr., mission commander; Kent V. Rominger, pilot; N. Jan Davis, payload commander; and Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., and Stephen K. Robinson, both mission specialists; along with payload specialist Bjarni Tryggvason, representing the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Space Shuttle Columbia, piggy-back on its 747 carrier aircraft, is only seconds away from a touchdown at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), completing its 2,400-mile ferry flight from Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Columbia, the first of the fleet of Space Shuttles, is scheduled for the first Space Shuttle flight n 1981.
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An aerial left side view of the STS-7 space shullte Challenger on the runway after its landing. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, takes off from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With its drag chute deployed, the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia touches down on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at 6:46:34 a.m. EDT with Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr. and Pilot Susan L. Still at the controls to complete the STS-94 mission. Also on board are Mission Specialist Donald A. Thomas, Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt , Payload Commander Janice Voss, and Payload Specialists Roger K. Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. Mission elapsed time for STS-94 was 15 days,16 hours, 44 seconds. During the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission, the Spacelab module was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. This mission was a reflight of the STS-83 mission that lifted off from KSC in April of this year. That space flight was
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DF-ST-89-06077. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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The NASA DC-8 in a right bank over the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains. The former airliner is a "dash-72" model and has a range of 5,500 miles. The craft can stay airborne for 12 hours and has an operational speed range between 300 and 500 knots. The research flights are made at between 500 and 41,000 feet. The aircraft can carry up to 30,000 lbs of research/science payload equipment installed in 15 mission-definable spaces. In this photo, the aircraft is shown in flight from below, with the DC-8 silhouetted against a blue sky.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With its drag chute deployed, the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia touches down on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at 6:46:34 a.m. EDT with Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr. and Pilot Susan L. Still at the controls to complete the STS-94 mission. Also on board are Mission Specialist Donald A. Thomas, Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt , Payload Commander Janice Voss, and Payload Specialists Roger K. Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. Mission elapsed time for STS-94 was 15 days,16 hours, 44 seconds. During the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission, the Spacelab module was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. This mission was a reflight of the STS-83 mission that lifted off from KSC in April of this year. That space flight was
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The wheels of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft leave the ground at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Discovery's ferry flight begins. The duo took off from Kennedy's runway 15 at 7 a.m. EDT.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferrymissions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 carried Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly,Va.
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NASA's specially modified 747 with the Space Shuttle Columbia atop takes off to ferry the Shuttle back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Columbia had recently completed its first orbital mission with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
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Space Shuttle Endeavour with its drag chute deployed
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With Commander Kevin Kregel and Pilot Steven Lindsey at the controls, the orbiter Columbia glides moments before its touchdown on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility. Main gear touchdown occurred at 7:20:04 a.m. EST on Dec. 5 to complete the 15-day, 16-hour and 34-minute-long STS-87 mission of 6.5 million miles. Also onboard the orbiter are Mission Specialists Winston Scott; Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D.; and Takao Doi, Ph.D., of the National Space Development Agency of Japan; along with Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk of the National Space Agency of Ukraine. During the 88th Space Shuttle mission, the crew performed experiments on the United States Microgravity Payload-4 and pollinated plants as part of the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment. This was the 12th landing for Columbia at KSC and the 41st KSC landing in the history of the Space Shuttle program
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Space shuttle Endeavour embarked on the first leg of its final flight Sept. 19, departing Kennedy Space Center in Florida and making early-morning flyover visits to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and nearby Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The shuttle flew atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, headed west, where it will go on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The flight crew coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct low-level flyovers at about 1,500 feet above Stennis and Michoud.
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A right rear view of the STS space shuttle Enterprise on the back of a NASA Boeing 747 aircraft during a public display to celebrate the Air and Space Bicentennial. Base: Dulles International Airport State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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Enterprise - Free Flight after Separation from 747
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STS054-S-101 (19 Jan 1993) --- The drag chute is just about to be released as the Space Shuttle Endeavour rolls toward wheelstop at KSC's Shuttle landing facility. Landing occurred at 8 38 a.m. (EST), Jan. 19, 1993. Onboard for the six-day mission were astronauts John H. Casper, mission commander, Donald R. McMonagle, pilot, Gregory J. Harbaugh, Mario Runco Jr. and Susan J. Helms, mission specialists.
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EDWARDS, Calif. - ED09-0127-02 - Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member crew approach Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ending a nearly 13-day journey of 5.3 million miles on the STS-125 mission to repair and upgrade NASAs Hubble Space Telescope. Main gear touchdown was at 11:39:05 a.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 11:39:15 a.m. EDT. Wheel stop was at 11:40:15 a.m., bringing the missions elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttles primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The nearby water reflects Space Shuttle Endeavour as it touches down on KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility Runway 33 to complete the 11-day, 5-hour, 38-minute-long STS-99 mission. Main gear touchdown was at 6:22:23 p.m. EST Feb. 22 , landing on orbit 181 of the mission. Nose gear touchdown was at 6:22:35 p.m.. EST, and wheel stop at 6:23:25 p.m. EST. At the controls are Commander Kevin Kregel and Pilot Dominic Gorie. Also onboard the orbiter are Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi, Janice Voss, Mamoru Mohri of Japan and Gerhard Thiele of Germany. Mohri is with the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) and Thiele is with the European Space Agency. The crew are returning from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, after mapping more than 47 million square miles of the Earth. This was the 97th flight in the Space Shuttle program and the 14th for Endeavour, also marking the 50th landing at KSC, the 21st consecutive landing at KSC, and the 28th in the last 29 Shut
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The drag chute unfurls to slow space shuttle Atlantis for landing on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 11 days in space, completing the 4.5-million mile STS-129 mission on orbit 171.Main gear touchdown was at 9:44:23 a.m. EST. Nose gear touchdown was at 9:44:36 a.m., and wheels stop was at 9:45:05 a.m. Aboard Atlantis are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr.; and Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott who spent 87 days aboard the International Space Station. STS-129 is the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight on the manifest. On STS-129, the crew delivered 14 tons of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, including two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers containing spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year.
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Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-133) lands, Wednesday, March 9, 2011, at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., completing its 39th and final flight. Since 1984, Discovery flew 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited Earth 5,830 times and traveled 148,221,675 miles.
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The space shuttle Atlantis is piggy-backed on NASA's Boeing 747 which has landed for refueling. It is on the last leg of its journey from Edwards Air Force Base, CA to Cape Kennedy, FL. Base: Eglin Air Force Base State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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Space Shuttle on Top of 747
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Xenons light the way home as space shuttle Atlantis' iconic white frame appears over the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the last time. Securing the space shuttle fleet's place in history, Atlantis marked the 26th nighttime landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Main gear touchdown was at 5:57:00 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 5:57:20 a.m., and wheelstop at 5:57:54 a.m. On board are STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.On the 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-135 delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which has spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 12
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Orbiter Discovery smokes its tires as it touches down on runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. EST, landing on orbit 135. Discovery returns to Earth with its crew of seven after successfully completing mission STS-95, lasting nearly nine days and 3.6 million miles. The crew consists of Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA); and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai,M.D., with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The mission included research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the ag
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The drag chute unfurls as space shuttle Atlantis lands on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 11 days in space, completing the 4.5-million mile STS-129 mission on orbit 171.Main gear touchdown was at 9:44:23 a.m. EST. Nose gear touchdown was at 9:44:36 a.m., and wheels stop was at 9:45:05 a.m. Aboard Atlantis are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr.; and Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott who spent 87 days aboard the International Space Station. STS-129 is the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight on the manifest. On STS-129, the crew delivered 14 tons of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, including two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers containing spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home departs from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT. The duo are heading south to fly over Brevard Countys beach communities for residents to get a look at the shuttle before it leaves the Space Coast for the last time.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia today, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
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This is an artist's concept of an X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator, a subscale protoptye launch vehicle being developed by NASA Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. (Vehicle configuration current as of 10/97) The X-33 is a subscale prototype of a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Lockheed Martin has labeled Venture Star TM. The X-33 program was cancelled in 2001.
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Edwards, Calif. - ED13-0266-047- A pickup truck pulls the Sierra Nevada Corporation, or SNC, Dream Chaser flight vehicle through 60 mile per hour tow tests on taxi and runways at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Ground testing at 10, 20, 40 and 60 miles per hour is helping the company validate the performance of the spacecraft's braking and landing systems prior to captive-carry and free-flight tests scheduled for later this year.SNC is continuing the development of its Dream Chaser spacecraft under the agency's Commercial Crew Development Round 2, or CCDev2, and Commercial Crew Integrated Capability, or CCiCap, phases, which are intended to lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial customers.
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X-24B Landing on Rogers Dry Lake
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S81-32625 (April 1981) --- This scene represents the end of NASA's STS-1 mission and the beginning of STS-2 in that the orbiter Columbia is arriving at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin the lengthy process of preparing it for STS-2. The vehicle landed at Dryden Flight Research Center on April 14 after an historic 2 1/3 day flight in Earth orbit. It was mated to this 747 aircraft, titled NASA 905, and flown over the USA to its Florida destination. It was later removed from atop NASA 905 and moved to the orbiter processing facility for the beginning of refurbishment.
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A right rear view of the first B-1B bomber testbed aircraft (originally the No. 2 B-1 prototype) taking off from a runway at the Air Force Flight Test Center. Base: Edwards Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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Edwards, Calif. - ED13-0266-047- A pickup truck pulls the Sierra Nevada Corporation, or SNC, Dream Chaser flight vehicle through 60 mile per hour tow tests on taxi and runways at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Ground testing at 10, 20, 40 and 60 miles per hour is helping the company validate the performance of the spacecraft's braking and landing systems prior to captive-carry and free-flight tests scheduled for later this year.SNC is continuing the development of its Dream Chaser spacecraft under the agency's Commercial Crew Development Round 2, or CCDev2, and Commercial Crew Integrated Capability, or CCiCap, phases, which are intended to lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial customers.