Sep 10, 2010
The space shuttle, that icon of American space ingenuity, is scheduled to serve its final mission early next year. Known officially as the Space Transportation System (STS), the missions have been more or less sequentially numbered from the first launch on April 12, 1981.
Though the final shuttle mission has not been set in stone, NASA's latest suggests it will be STS-134.
Date: Feb, 2011 *
Mission: STS-134
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad
39A
Launch Time: To Be Determined
STS-134 Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver an
EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and an Alpha Magnetic
Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space
Station.
DJDeedle remembers vividly that first launch and successful landing, as well as the two tragic shuttle accidents.
This week's
Deedlecast is a salute to the era of the space shuttle and all the
brave folks on those missions. The STS program may be ending
soon, but the missions will continue forever in our hearts.