Space Shuttle: On the Anniversary of the Last-Ever Mission (PHOTOS)

with Douglas Dechow

Sunday, July 8, 2012, marks the first anniversary of the last launch of the Space Shuttle Program. Atlantis lifted off LC-39A at 11:29:03 after a very brief delay and began STS-135, the last mission in the three-decade-long program. U.S. manned spaceflight ended (at least temporarily) when that mission concluded twelve days later. One year ago, Lofty Ambitions bloggers spent the week at the Space Coast following this last shuttle mission. On the first anniversary of the last-ever shuttle mission, we share this photo essay.

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Comments

[ThinkCreeps]

07:25 AM on 07/09/2012

And thus the risks of flying into space were markedly reduced, and some museums got nice new exhibits. Progress.

[Anna Leahy]

10:00 PM on 09/02/2012

Next orbiter transfer to museum is September 17-20, as long as the weather is good (and it's not really all the way to the museum until October).

[Peripeteia]

04:56 AM on 07/09/2012

Thank you for posting this! The pictures are great.

[Anna Leahy]

10:00 PM on 09/02/2012

Thanks for the encouragement!

[SwiftJonathan]

03:01 AM on 07/09/2012

Too bad that we tend to forget about all the shuttle nostalgia that the system has killed 14 exceptional people. That's out of a total of 18 total in-flight fatalities. It was a totally irresponsible system design, from day one.

[RevRCM]

11:28 PM on 07/08/2012

While it is heartbreaking to see many of the people who worked on the shuttle program going unemployed or underemployed, I note that a lot of kneejerk Obama haters claim that he has somehow destroyed American human spaceflight capability. Frankly, Congress and NASA itself are responsibile for a lot of the dithering a diretionlessness of the program. That said, it should also be noted that there are currently FOUR serious programs designed to to put Americans back in space on American spacecraft. Space X is doing a tremendous job of developing new boosters and spacecraft, and a piloted Dragon is probably five years away. It will actually be cheaper and more capable than either the Soyuz or Shenzhou. ATK's Liberty is well along its development, and so is Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser. In addition, Orion is being developed for deep space missions. Six years passed between the last Apollo and the first Shuttle flight. The Shuttle did some great things, but it was always too expensive and wasn't as safe as hoped. We should have further along in replacing it... But, we are making real progress.

[ThinkCreeps]

07:24 AM on 07/09/2012

ATK's liberty is a very costly, pork-fed joke - it's a bit of an Ariane V on a dangerous stick.

China's current launchers are capable of little more than making noise.

Don't forget the pitches from Blue Horizon and Orbital Sciences that I assume are lurking in your FOUR.

Horror upon horrors is the unjustified Senate Launch System, which may at some point be able to throw people as well as burning cash into space.

[SwiftJonathan]

02:14 PM on 07/10/2012

Yes, I always wondered when ATK would replace the aluminum powered inside their thrusters with tax dollars. Given how much their boosters cost, they may as well be stuffing dollar notes in there.

[HayNonnyMoose]

10:14 AM on 07/09/2012

Part of that "progress" was Obama's appointed minion directing NASA to validate Islam's contribution to space flight? My despising of your president isn't knee-jerk. It's well-considered.

[showme54]

04:54 PM on 07/16/2012

You obviously do not remember that it was Reagan (at his Vice Pres, Geo HW Bush's urging) to invite a young Muslim Saudi Prince to be an 'astronaut' aboard a Space Shuttle many many years ago. btw, if you are an American citizen, Obama is your President too, Ace...he was elected by the people unlike the last one that was given the office by slick Supreme Court & political shenanigans.

[dechow]

07:46 PM on 07/08/2012

I was helping snap these images one year ago today. #Shuttle #sts135 #NASA