Atlantis was named after a ship that did work for Massachusetts' Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute between and The sailing ship was the first to image the ocean floor using electronic sounding devices. Construction work started on shuttle Atlantis on March 3, , in Palmdale, Calif. Using what it had learned from its other shuttles, NASA built Atlantis in less time than its siblings. It was also lighter than the other shuttles.
NASA used thermal protection covers on the top of the shuttle rather than individual tiles, which saved substantial time and money during its construction. Atlantis ended up almost 3. It took about six months to get ready for its first mission, which lifted off Oct. To this day, Atlantis' first flight is shrouded in secrecy. Mission STSJ took five people into space and lasted four days.
Just over one month later, Atlantis headed for space again on Nov. It lofted three communications satellites into orbit. Additionally, Atlantis' crew members did two experimental spacewalks devoted to learning about assembling structures in space. The Challenger explosion in January grounded the remaining shuttle fleet for two years. It wasn't until December that Atlantis flew again, this time bringing another classified payload into space on STS On board the shuttle was Magellan , a spacecraft that would be launched toward Venus.
This was the first time that NASA launched an interplanetary probe from the shuttle's payload bay. The astronauts sent the satellite on its way remarkably quickly, only six hours after launch. Magellan fired its rocket stages successfully to coast to Venus. Its radar peered beneath Venus' thick clouds and eventually mapped 98 percent of the hot planet's surface.
STS marked the beginning of a flurry of satellite and classified payload launches for the orbiter. Astronauts had to do an emergency spacewalk to fix a high-gain antenna that refused to deploy. Once that was fixed, the observatory successfully watched supernovas and neutron stars for nine years.
In the mids, Atlantis' focus changed again. NASA and Russia had brokered an agreement for American astronauts to stay aboard the Mir space station, which would give both sides experience in working together in space ahead of the planned International Space Station. The shuttle flew seven times in a row to the orbiting science platform, ferrying astronauts back and forth. STS lifted off on June 27, , to usher in several historic moments. The flight was the first shuttle mission to head to the Mir space station.
When some of the crew swapped places to head back home, Atlantis also became the first shuttle to see its astronaut manifest change in space. Also, the mission marked the th human spaceflight launch from Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis and Mir, when hooked together, formed the largest spacecraft orbiting Earth, at the time. The space station and space shuttle together weighed about tons, or almost half a million pounds. While on board, the joint U. NASA's Space Shuttle Program A ship like no other, the space shuttle launched like a rocket and landed like a glider while transporting astronauts to space and back for thirty years.
Mission Zone Overview Allow 2. Explore Mission Zone. Prev Mission Zone. See all Mission Zones. Next Mission Zone. Key Attractions. Constellation Sphere Known as a Kugel ball, this 9 ton black granite sphere etched with 88 constellations floats on a fountain of water, demonstrating the science of buoyancy and friction.
Join Us on Orbit Don't miss the upper gallery next to Atlantis! Interactive touch screens allow you to explore all shuttle missions. Interactive simulators will test your skills at performing a spacewalk.
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