Updates STS-135 Updates

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DLR Blogs: STS-135 Atlantis – the final episode


Spaceflight Now:

• FINALITY OF THE MOMENT: The shuttle program is over
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis' re-entry seen from station (PHOTO GALLERY)
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis returns home (PHOTO GALLERY #1)
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis returns home (PHOTO GALLERY #2)
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis on the runway (PHOTO GALLERY #1)
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis on the runway (PHOTO GALLERY #2)

 

[ky]

Here's my Shuttle Tribute video.Again,BE ADVISED:this is just a quick release ,there are some issues such as coreographing the pictures with the music.

[ame="http://www.vimeo.com/26763632"]Space Shuttle Program Tribute on Vimeo[/ame]

 

[rseferino]

Atlantis on its way home taken by Exp 28 crew of the space station.

 

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Atlantis on its way home taken by Exp 28 crew of the space station.

Already posted a couple of posts earlier, and there are some more photos of Atlantis' entry taken from ISS, linked in this post (1st Spaceflight Now's photo gallery).

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Here's video of Atlantis re-entering over Cancun Mexico, by Noe Castillo:

 

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NASASpaceflight: Atlantis into down processing after MER review notes flawless return:

Shuttle Atlantis has been given top marks for her return to Earth via the Mission Evaluation Room (MER) landing report – normally a highly technical, emotionless review into vehicle performance. However, as Atlantis begins down processing for her retirement, her team of engineers and controllers signed off on a report which included numerous notes of pride, best wishes and farewells.

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Spaceflight Now:

• Photo Gallery: Atlantis towed to hangar (PHOTO GALLERY #1)
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis towed to hangar (PHOTO GALLERY #1)
• Photo Gallery: Shuttle crew thanks workforce (PHOTO GALLERY)

 

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NASASpaceflight: STS-135: ET camera functions through ascent – no usable video of reentry:

Providing stunning images of the grand finale of the Shuttle Program, the External Tank (ET) camera on ET-138 concluded a 22-flight legacy - beaming back images of the tank’s performance through ascent. However, a camera modification was ultimately unsuccessful in transmitting much more than static footage of the tank as it tumbled into Earth’s atmosphere for its death plunge into the Pacific ocean.

{...}

 

[tl8]

Oh well, It was worth a shot anyway.

 

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NASA:

• STS-135: The Final Voyage
• STS-135 Mission of Space Shuttle Atlantis by the Numbers
• Last Picture of Atlantis in Space

Some numbers:

• 135th Space Shuttle mission
• 33rd Flight of Atlantis (125,935,769 statute miles)
• 307 Total days Atlantis has spent in space on 33 missions
• 37th Shuttle / Station assembly mission
• 11:29 a.m. EDT Launched Monday, July 8 (100th day launch out of 135 missions)
• 5:57 a.m. EDT Landed Thursday, July 21 (20th night KSC landing; 26 night landings total)
• 12 Days/18:27:56 Mission Elapsed Time (MET) – main gear touchdown (days/hours:minutes:seconds)
• 5,284,862 Statute miles traveled (Total Mileage for Atlantis - 125,935,769; Total Mileage for Shuttle - 542,398,878)
• 200 Orbits (4,848 total on 33 missions)
• 11:07 a.m. EDT Docked to the International Space Station Sun July 10 (MET 1/23:38)
• 2:28 a.m. EDTUndocking of a shuttle from the ISS for the last time (MET 10/14:59)
• 08/15:21 Docked duration (assembly record is STS-123 at 11/20:36)
• 12:47 p.m. EDT Hatches opened between Atlantis and the ISS Sun, July 10 (MET 2/01:18)
• 10:28 a.m. EDT Hatches are closed Monday, July 18 (MET 9/22:59)
• 7/21:41 Total hatch open time between Atlantis & ISS (“Joint Operations”)
• 78th Landing at KSC (20th night – 59th day) & 133rd overall (54 EDW & 1 WSSH)
• 202 Different “visitors” to the space station representing 15 countries
• 852 Space Shuttle seats filled
• 355 Individuals flown on the Space Shuttle
• 30,576 Pounds of hardware to station – includes MPLM, LMC, RRM & Picosat
• 28,100 Pounds of hardware from station – includes MPLM, LMC, & PM
• 25,478 “Raffaello” Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (launch weight)
• 21, 920 “Raffaello” Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (return weight)
• 9,403 “Raffaello” Multi-Purpose Logistics Module cargo (launch weight)
• 5,861 “Raffaello” Multi-Purpose Logistics Module cargo (return weight)
• 2,977 Lightweight Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structure Carrier (up mass)
• 1,409 Lightweight Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structure Carrier (down mass)
• 550 Robotic Refueling Mission payload mass
• 8 PicoSat mass (final deploy from a shuttle – the 180th)
• 65 Pounds of Oxygen transferred to ISS (stack repress)
• 111 Pounds of Nitrogen transferred to ISS (stack repress)
• 1,652 Pounds of water transferred to ISS
• 1,283 Pounds of middeck items delivered to ISS aboard Atlantis
• 723 Pounds of middeck items returned from ISS aboard Atlantis
• 901,745 Mass in space of the International Space Station (in pounds)
• 100 Percentage complete of ISS assembly (pressurized volume)
• 1 Spacewalks completed totaling 6 hrs,31 min (E28’s Mike Fossum/Ron Garan)
• 1,009:09 Hours & minutes of EVA time devoted to ISS assembly (~ 42 days of EVA time)
• 160 Number of EVAs devoted to ISS assembly
• 249 Total number of EVAs performed by U.S. astronauts

Last Pictures of Atlantis in Space (Atlantis marked with cirle):

 

[Pipcard]

Wait, that's Atlantis? Looks like sunspots...

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Hi-res pics of the side-on views of the ISS during the STS-135 flyaround are now released here!

 

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NASA: Atlantis’ Final Mission Included Successful Kennedy-Developed Plant Experiment

 

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Spaceflight Now:

• Photo Gallery: Atlantis' payload bay emptied (PHOTO GALLERY #1)
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis' payload bay emptied (PHOTO GALLERY #2)
• Photo Gallery: Atlantis' payload bay emptied (PHOTO GALLERY #3)

 

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NASA: Peering Inside the Flame: Fusion Imaging of the Final Space Shuttle Launch

Click image for full resolution​

A fused launch image of STS-135.​

Click image for full resolution​

A side-by-side comparison showing a one-camera view of the launch (left) with the six-camera composited view (right).​

Click image for full resolution​

The six images that went into a final composite image for STS-135. The first one is taken by a thermal infrared camera.​

 

[Kyle]

Video I made of STS-135, using John Williams musical piece from 'Close Encounters'

 

[Star Voyager]

Video I made of STS-135, using John Williams musical piece from 'Close Encounters'
STS-135 - ''Resolution'' - HD - YouTube

I cried ... again . Awesome video!

 

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NASASpaceflight: NASA reviews TPS nose cap damage to STS-135/Atlantis:

With the Space Shuttle Program now officially a part of NASA’s past, the agency is continuing the process of getting Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour ready for their display at museums around the United States. However, following STS-135, NASA did conduct one official post-flight review – an investigation into RCC nose cap/chin strap damage to orbiter Atlantis on STS-135.


Post-STS-135 OV-104 Nose Cap damage:

As part of the standard landing-day procedures, a quick assessment of orbiter Atlantis’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) was made after her successful return to the Kennedy Space Center after the 12-day capstone mission for the Space Shuttle Program.

During this runway TPS inspection, an unexpected damage site was found on Atlantis’s nose cap RCC (Reinforced Carbon-Carbon) panel where it adjoins the RCC chin strap.

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[Kyle]

Bump for the 5th anniversary of STS-135's landing.

 

[GLS]

STS-135 Live + 10 years

More videos should appear here: https://www.youtube.com/user/lunarmodule5/videos

 

[Marg]

10 years, I was there! Destiny, to become one of those who have witnessed shuttle launch "live" with their own eyes.