Space Shuttle memorable moments
The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch on Friday, July 8 and is the 135th and final space shuttle launch for NASA. Take a look back at some of the memorable moments in the space shuttle's history.
Section:Picture story
In this May 13, 1992 picture made available by NASA, astronauts Richard Hieb, Thomas Akers and Pierre Thuot grab the Intelsat VI satellite from the ledges of the payload bay of the space shutle Endeavour in the first three-man spacewalk. The satellite had been stuck at a uselessly low orbit for more than two years.
NASA, File Associated Press
This July 1992 file picture provided by NASA shows the Tethered Satellite System during an experiment on the space shuttle Atlantis. On Sunday, Feb. 25, 1996, the Italian satellite, which was attached to the space shuttle Columbia, floated off into space after its cable broke.
NASA, File Associated Press
In this Monday, June 8, 1998 image made from video provided by NASA, Russian space station Mir cosmonauts Nikolai Budarin, top right, and Talgat Musabayev say goodbye to the crew of the space shuttle Discovery as they close the hatch linking the two spacecraft before undocking. Discovery was the ninth and last shuttle to dock with Mir.
NASA TV, File Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 31, 1998 image made from video provided by NASA, U.S. Sen. John Glenn, right, speaks to mission control during an experiment, assisted by astronaut Scott Parazynski, left, as Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque eats from a food packet aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
NASA TV, File Associated Press
In this Friday, July 23, 1999 picture provided by NASA, flaming exhaust thrusts from the solid rocket boosters and main engines of the space shuttle Columbia as it launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. into the night sky.
NASA, File Associated Press
In this Sept. 12, 2002 file picture, astronaut Eileen Collins, commander for the space shuttle Discovery mission scheduled for May 2005 launch, is briefed by crew trainer Ken Trujillo during a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA, File Associated Press
This Monday, Nov. 25, 2002 file picture shows the space shuttle Endeavour over New Zealand as it approaches the International Space Station for docking.
NASA, File Associated Press
In this Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003 file photo, debris from the space shuttle Columbia streaks across the sky over Tyler, Texas.
Dr. Scott Lieberman, File Associated Press
In this Feb. 10, 2003 file photo, Rona Ramon, widow, right, and Assaf Ramon, left, eldest son of Israel’s first astronaut Ilan Ramon, pay their respects beside his coffin during a memorial service at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv. Ramon, a 48 year old air force colonel, died with six other astronauts aboard NASA’s Columbia space shuttle, which was destroyed as it came through the Earth’s atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003. Assaf wears his father’s NASA flight jacket. Assaf Ramon grew up to become an Israeli Air Force pilot like his father. He was killed when his fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in 2009. He was 21.
Paul Hanna, File Associated Press
In this Tuesday, July 26, 2005 file picture, crowds watch as the space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The seven astronauts launched into orbit on America’s first manned space mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Phil Sandlin Associated Press
In this Dec. 11, 2006 photo provided by NASA, the space shuttle Discovery, its KU-band antenna at right, approaches the International Space Station.
NASA, File Associated Press
In this Monday, May 18, 2009 image made from video provided by NASA, astronaut John Grunsfeld is reflected on the surface of the Hubble Space Telescope as he works to upgrade the orbiting observatory during a spacewalk on the fifth and final repair mission for the then 19-year-old telescope.
NASA TV, File Associated Press
This May 23, 2011 photo made by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking and released by NASA shows the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour, left, at an altitude of approximately 220 miles. A Soyuz capsule had never headed for home while a shuttle was parked at the space station, providing a rare opportunity for the photo session.
NASA, Paolo Nespoli Associated Press
This Saturday, May 28, 2011 photo provided by NASA shows the Endeavour with a nighttime view of the Earth and a starry sky, while docked at the International Space Station during the Endeavour’s final mission.
NASA, File Associated Press
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