At 9:44 a.m. local time, Atlantis touched down safely in Florida after an 11 day flight in Earth orbit, ending mission STS-129. She’ll be cleaned up for one final mission — STS-132, slated for May 2010 — before permanent retirement. There are five scheduled Shuttle flights remaining, all to the International Space Station.
In celebration of a safe voyage, I leave you with this: sunset from the ISS during STS-129.
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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November 27th, 2009 at 10:49 am
It was a smooth touchdown! Only 5 flights remaining — that makes me sad, somehow…
nice picture
November 27th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Frankly, people need to see the upside of moving beyond the Space Shuttle. The cost of maintaining the shuttle fleet is now too much and that money should go into a new system. At this moment, the primary use for the shuttle is for the ISS but the Russians can cover those missions until NASA is ready with the next generation of space vehicles.
November 27th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Awesome image Dr. Plait. Definitely going into the Desktop Background folder
November 27th, 2009 at 11:37 am
@ FC
Yes and No. There is still a need for upmass capability for replacements parts for ISS. This is especially true if the ISS mission is extended to 2020. Nothing within sight has this ability except Ares V (10-15 years from now according to the Augustine Commission) or the Direct architecture. As for whether the Shuttle is “too expensive”, as soon as the Shuttle retires NASA overhead will be shifted to whatever new program comes along, and the new program cost will soar.
Atlantis Landing Eye Candy
November 27th, 2009 at 11:51 am
I watched the landing on NASA TV.
I like the shot that showed the shadow of the shuttle go across the runway, and then the shuttle itself flew overhead, coming down for it’s landing.
I’m hoping the shuttle is extended in operations to reduce the HSF gap.
I think that after Atlantis completes its final mission, it should be put in a “stand by” status to serve as a “rescue shuttle”.
Discovery and Endeavour can each fly once a year.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I’ve read about helium tanks on the Shuttles not being safe anymore. Frankly, as wonderful as they can be at liftoff and landing, they are too risky to fly further. We have to be rational on that.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
[...] Link: "Shuttle lands in Florida" and related posts [...]
November 27th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Does anyone here know what the plan are to do with Atlantis after the May flight?
November 27th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
@Blaise:
First it’s going to be used for any spare parts needed for Endevour & Discovery before they’re retired. After that, it’s going to be owned by the Smithsonian, and loaned to a suitable museum. There are currently about 20 institutions issuing proposals, but that’s expected to decline.
BTW, the institution has to pay for the transportation to their facility. That’s expected to be in the millions of dollars.
November 27th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Somehow, neither the Russian capsules nor the Ares have the pure beauty of the Shuttles. We still need a flyable shuttle, if for no other reason than its heavy lift capability.
And…completely irrational of course…because the Shuttle actually looks like a ground to orbit space vehicle ought to look (see “2001, A Space Odyssey” the space movie of our dreams).
November 27th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Awesome photo by the way!
Brandon Hansen
Just South of North
http://www.justsouthofnorth.com
November 27th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Is it just me, or is there an optical illusion of some sort in this photo in that the Sun appears to extend and shine below & through the Earth making a notch in the horizon? Anyone else see what I’m talking about here?
Great picture – thanks BA & Atlantis crew.
@ 2. FC Says:
Frankly, people need to see the upside of moving beyond the Space Shuttle.
Well it would be good if we were replacing the shuttle with a superior similar re-usable spaceplane and straight away. Not having a 5 year or more gap between major NASA spacecraft & not having something that looks more like a scaled up copy of Apollo rather than something newer, fresher and larger.
It feels like a dead end for thsi type of spacecraft & I share (#1.) DrFlimmer’s sense of sadness. It feels to me like we’ve missed an opportunity and let one avenue of space travel run dry without developing it further as we could have. I’d like to see a super-shuttle replacing the current shuttle not a super-Apollo doing so. Italso feels like we’ve really run out of momentum and I want to see us get moving and not grind to a stop space-wise.
That said I’d love to see the Ares work out brilliantly and hope it does well and comes into full production and takes flight soon.
@ 10. gypkap : I agree.
The shuttle may have had its faults but it was an amazing machine and has done some marvellously remarkable things. I too will really miss it. More people have flown into space aboard the shuttle than any other spacecraft, & I doubt that the Hubble Space observatory and Interbnational Space Station would exist without it.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
There are five scheduled Shuttle flights remaining,
How many *unscheduled* ones are left?
Any chance they’ll keep it flying at least a little longer and not have such a long and rather pathetic gap before the next NASA manned spacecraft?
November 27th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
@9. Alex Says:
@Blaise : First it’s [the 'Atlantis' is] going to be used for any spare parts needed for Endevour & Discovery before they’re retired. After that, it’s going to be owned by the Smithsonian, and loaned to a suitable museum.
So dismantled for spare parts then made a museum piece.
That fate for theAtlantis reminds me of this poem :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ironsides_(poem)
& from here : http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/owh/oldiron.html
Old Ironsides
By Oliver Wendell Holmes
September 16, 1830
…
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee;–
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!
*****************************************
I vote we let ‘Atlantis’ fly until she can fly no more & only then give her an honourable retirement – or could we even use her and the other orbiters as components of the International Space Station? Has NASA considered that possibility?
November 28th, 2009 at 1:54 am
My entire extended family turned out to see the space station and the shuttle just after sunset on Thanksgiving, four generations watching two bright points in the sky skimming the northern horizon. It was the first time I’d actually seen the shuttle, though I’ve often heard its twin sonic booms when it had to land on the west coast. A few of us even saw their brief reappearance later that evening. I’d like to say it was magical, but it was merely wonderful.
November 28th, 2009 at 5:47 am
‘Prepare for a crash landing! ‘
LOL
November 28th, 2009 at 6:20 am
@13. Petrolonfire
“How many *unscheduled* ones are left?”
That’s the big question being debated right now since the final Augustine report has been delivered. Answers could range from 0 to 1/year or more depending on who you ask and what is chosen. An extra shuttle flight already has been added to deliver the AMS telescope to the ISS, and I think its been funded but I’m not 100% sure. That’s the thing here, anyone out there can say what they want, but if the President doesn’t ask and Congress doesn’t provide the funds it is meaningless. NASA does not set forth its policies. It can only recommend and hope whoever is in charge of the country follows. That does not always happen.
@2. FC
There is actually a very important use the Russian cannot provide: experiments. Because of the size of the Soyuz (and ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle, or ATV), large experiment racks cannot be shipped. Luckily, Japan’s new HTV spacecraft that was launched recently can provide that service, as well as SpaceX’s Dragon capsule if it is completed and successfully launches. You’re right though than in terms of people, Russia can serve the US’ needs for the time being.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Makes me wonder if we had taken the X-20 DynaSoar to it’s fullest abilties.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:56 am
@17 SteveA:
THX.
I was actually thinking more along the lines of emergency rescue flights but that’s kinda nice to hear too.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Whilst intellectually I know they’re not safe to fly anymore, and they need to be replaced thinking of those Shuttles parked in a hangar someplace, stripped and mouldering breaks my gorram heart.
It would be a lot different if we had something more capable to replace them, but I’m still not sold on the Ares concept as being a real replacement.
I have a terrible fear that soon we’ll be saying “Remember when we were a spacefaring country?” That’s a very, very bad thing in my estimation. It hurt and felt like a big step back when Concorde was retired, but this feels like a far greater loss.
I know, I’m being emotional. It’s never failed to make my heart swell to basketball size to see “UNITED STATES” roaring into the sky, carrying brave men and women into the future. I’m worried that we won’t see it for a while.
November 28th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Man, that’s pretty!
Thanks, Phil.
GAry 7
November 28th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
@ 20 Mark HB :
I feel exactly the same.
I have a terrible fear that soon we’ll be saying “Remember when we were a spacefaring country?” That’s a very, very bad thing in my estimation. It hurt and felt like a big step back when Concorde was retired, but this feels like a far greater loss.
Agreed.
Not only that but we’ll be conceeding very real power, global presteige and technological & military capability to other less short-sighted (& also less democratic and more totalitarian) nations such as China and Russia.
If we don’t control space then somebody else will and that somebody else is likely to be a lot nastier and less reasonable than us. If we give up the high ground of space we put ourselves or worse our children – and our future – into the hands of nations that are, at best, not overly well-inclined towards us and, at worst, outright enemy states. This may not be the politically correct thing to say but it is indeed true and very sad.
To throw away what we’ve done and thousands of Americans have worked so hard and so long for is just heart-breaking.
We should have not just one shuttle but a whole range of different shuttle-type spaceplanes & rockets by now and we should have kept and increased our space technology lead rather than stagnating and losing that drive and vision which we once had and which took us to the Moon. Having started on the reusable spaceplane road we should have kept going and developed further and better spacecraft on those lines, not stopped and gone backwards.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:39 am
I was visiting my parents in Florida when it landed. We were having breakfast outside on their back porch when we heard the sonic boom and it shook the whole house. Pretty darn cool.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
We don’t need manned units for heavy lift capability. Retire these shuttles. Use unmanned rockets to resupply ISS.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:04 am
Everyone here is missing the obvious; that “photo” supposedly taken by “astronauts” from the so-called “space shuttle” is fake – you can’t see any stars in the sky!
Sorry, I came over all “channeling Bart Sibrel” there for a moment.