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Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is one of the space shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It was the fourth operational shuttle built. Following the destruction of Challenger and Columbia, it is one of only three fully operational shuttles remaining in the fleet. The other two are Discovery and Endeavour.
Operational history Atlantis made its first flight in October 1985, conducting classified military activities, one of five such flights. In 1989, Atlantis deployed two planetary probes, Magellan and Galileo, and in 1991, it deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Beginning in 1995, Atlantis made seven straight flights to the Soviet space station Mir. On the second Mir flight, it delivered a docking module, and on the subsequent flights, it conducted astronaut exchanges. From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis underwent refitting operations, with about 165 modifications made to the shuttle, including the installation of the Multifunction Electronic Display System, or glass cockpit. It has made six flights since then, all involving assembly activities at the International Space Station. In October 2002, Atlantis and the six-person crew completed an 11-day mission to the International Space Station that involved three space walks. NASA scheduled the 27th launch for Atlantis for September 2005, during the window of September 9 - 24. It was ruled unsafe to fly the mission and the launch window was missed, due to the complications during Discoverys launch of mission STS-114 and NASA's subsequent suspension of all future shuttle launches. Atlantis was the designated STS-300 rescue orbiter for the STS-114 mission. Atlantis was scheduled to fly the STS-121 mission, but it was decided that Discovery would fly the mission instead. After a four-year-halt of Atlantis, she went back in orbit along with six astronauts on STS-115, carrying the P3/P4 truss segments and solar arrays. Atlantis is currently in the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 preparing for STS-117, this time delivering the S3/S4 truss segments and solar arrays to the International Space Station. Atlantis is scheduled to be retired in 2008 after its last scheduled flight, STS-126. It would be used to supply parts for Discovery and Endeavour through the anticipated end of the Space Shuttle program in 2010. Atlantis was chosen for early decommissioning to avoid a costly overhaul process that was slated to begin in 2008.• Flights Space Shuttle Atlantis has completed 27 flights, spent 220.40-days in space, completed 3,468 orbits, and flown 89,908,732 miles in total, as of September 2006. Popular culture See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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