Space Shuttle Atlantis

File:Atlantis silhouette.jpg the Sun]]

• Weight (with three shuttle main engines): {{cvt|68635|kg}}
• Length: {{cvt|37.2|m}}
• Height: {{cvt|17.2|m}}
• Wingspan: {{cvt|23.7|m}}
• Atlantis was completed in about half the time it took to build {{OV|102}}.{{cite news|title=Atlantis takes off on final mission|publisher=CBC News|date=May 14, 2010|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/atlantis-takes-off-on-final-mission-1.871559|access-date=February 25, 2023}}
• When it rolled out of the Palmdale assembly plant, weighing {{cvt|68635|kg}}, Atlantis was nearly {{cvt|3.5|ST|t}} lighter than Columbia.

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on its maiden voyage STS-51-J on October 3, 1985. This was the second shuttle mission that was a dedicated Department of Defense mission.{{cite web |url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-042210a.html|title=Space shuttle Atlantis moves to launch pad for final planned flight|publisher=Collect SPACE|date=April 22, 2010|access-date=July 25, 2010}} It flew one other mission, STS-61-B (the second shuttle night launch) before the Challenger disaster temporarily grounded the shuttle fleet in 1986. Among the five Space Shuttles flown into space, Atlantis conducted a subsequent mission in the shortest time after the previous mission (turnaround time) when it launched in November 1985 on STS-61-B, only 50 days after its previous mission, STS-51-J in October 1985. Atlantis was then used for ten flights from 1988 to 1992. Two of these, both flown in 1989, deployed the planetary probes Magellan to Venus (on STS-30) and Galileo to Jupiter (on STS-34). With STS-30 Atlantis became the first Space Shuttle to launch an interplanetary probe.{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/news/7cool-things-space-shuttle-atlantis-100512.html|title=7 Cool Things You Didn't Know About Space Shuttle Atlantis|author=Karen Rowan|publisher=SPACE.com|date=May 12, 2010|access-date=May 13, 2010|archive-date=July 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727061824/http://www.space.com/news/7cool-things-space-shuttle-atlantis-100512.html|url-status=dead}}

File:STS-27metalmelt.jpg)]]

File:STS-132 Atlantis at ISS 1.jpg during STS-132 mission]]

During the launch of STS-27 in 1988, a piece of insulation shed from the right solid rocket booster struck the underside of the vehicle, severely damaging over 700 tiles and removing one tile altogether.{{Cite web |last=Hartsfield |first=Tom |date=August 12, 2022 |title=How the Space Shuttle program nearly ended in disaster |url=https://bigthink.com/the-past/space-shuttle-program-near-disaster/ |access-date=August 19, 2022 |website=Big Think |language=en-US}} The crew were instructed to use the remote manipulator system to survey the condition of the underside of the right wing, ultimately finding substantial tile damage. Due to the classified nature of the mission, the only images transferred to the mission control center were encrypted and of extremely poor quality. Mission control personnel deemed the damage to be "lights and shadows" and instructed the crew to proceed with the mission as usual, infuriating many of the crew. Upon landing, Atlantis became the single-most-damaged shuttle to successfully land. The survival of the crew is attributed to a steel L band antenna plate which was positioned directly under the missing tile.{{cite journal|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890010807&hterms=TM-100355|title=STS-27R OV-104 Orbiter TPS damage review team, volume 1|last=Thomas|first=John|date=February 1, 1989|publisher=NASA|website=NTRS NASA Technical Reports Servers}} {{PD-notice}} A similar situation would eventually lead to the loss of the shuttle Columbia in 2003, albeit on the more critical reinforced carbon-carbon.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-107.html|title=NASA – STS-107|last=KSC|first=Lynda Warnock|website=nasa.gov|access-date=June 17, 2019|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206060058/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-107.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}

During STS-37 in 1991, Atlantis deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Beginning in 1995 with STS-71, Atlantis made seven straight flights to the former Russian space station Mir as part of the Shuttle–Mir program. STS-71 marked a number of firsts in human spaceflight: 100th U.S. crewed space flight; first U.S. Shuttle-Russian Space Station Mir docking and joint on-orbit operations; and first on-orbit change-out of shuttle crew.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-71.html|title=STS-71|publisher=NASA|access-date=July 25, 2010}} {{PD-notice}} When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time.

File:Space_Shuttle_Atlantis_launches_on_STS-132.jpg]]

Atlantis delivered several vital components for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). During the February 2001 mission STS-98 to the ISS, Atlantis delivered the Destiny Module, the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the ISS.{{cite web |author=Halvorson |first=Todd |title=Destiny Fulfilled: Atlantis Ends Mission With Safe Touchdown |url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts98_land_010220.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523234202/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts98_land_010220.html |archive-date=May 23, 2009 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |publisher=Space.com}} The five-hour 25-minute third spacewalk performed by astronauts Robert Curbeam and Thomas Jones during STS-98 marked NASA's 100th extra vehicular activity in space.{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts98_eva3pm_010214.html|title=Astronauts Cap 100th Spacewalk With Successful Disaster Drill|author=Todd Halvorson|publisher=Space.com|date=February 14, 2010 |access-date=July 25, 2010}} The Quest Joint Airlock, was flown and installed to the ISS by Atlantis during the mission STS-104 in July 2001.{{cite web |author=Harwood |first=William |date=July 15, 2001 |title=Airlock marks milestone in quest to assemble Alpha |url=http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage7a/010715fd4/ |access-date=July 25, 2010 |publisher=Spaceflight Now}} The successful installation of the airlock gave on-board space station crews the ability to stage repair and maintenance spacewalks outside the ISS using U.S. EMU or Russian Orlan space suits. The first mission flown by Atlantis after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was STS-115, conducted during September 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/115_mission_overview.html|title=STS-115: A Mission to Build On|publisher=NASA|date=September 28, 2006|access-date=July 25, 2010|archive-date=July 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726190519/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/115_mission_overview.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} The mission carried the P3/P4 truss segments and solar arrays to the ISS. On ISS assembly flight STS-122 in February 2008, Atlantis delivered the Columbus laboratory to the ISS.{{cite web |author=Mosher |first=Dave |date=February 7, 2008 |title=Europeans Celebrate Successful Launch of Science Lab |url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080207-sts122-columbus-launch.html |access-date=July 25, 2010 |website=Space.com}} Columbus laboratory is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA).{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESAAYI0VMOC_iss_0.html|title=Columbus laboratory|author=European Space Agency|access-date=July 25, 2010}}

File:STS-132 Liftoff Space Shuttle Atlantis.ogv

File:STS-135 Atlantis and Southern Lights.jpg for the final time]]

In May 2009 Atlantis flew a seven-member crew to the Hubble Space Telescope for its Servicing Mission 4, STS-125.{{cite web |author= |date=May 29, 2009 |title=Mission Accomplished: Leaving Hubble Better Than Ever |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts125/launch/125_overview.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026115041/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts125/launch/125_overview.html |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |website=NASA}} The mission was a success, with the crew completing five spacewalks totaling 37 hours to install new cameras, batteries, a gyroscope and other components to the telescope. This was the final mission not to rendezvous with the ISS.

The longest mission flown using Atlantis was STS-117, which lasted almost 14 days in June 2007.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/news/STS-117-30.html|title=STS-117 MCC Status Report #30|publisher=NASA|date=June 22, 2007|access-date=July 25, 2010|archive-date=November 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120185309/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/news/STS-117-30.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} During STS-117, Atlantis{{'}} crew added a new starboard truss segment and solar array pair (the S3/S4 truss), folded the P6 array in preparation for its relocation and performed four spacewalks. Atlantis was not equipped to take advantage of the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System so missions could not be extended by making use of power provided by ISS.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts122/interview_love.html |title=Preflight Interview: Stan Love, Mission Specialist|publisher=NASA|date=November 19, 2007}} {{PD-notice}}

During the STS-129 post-flight interview on November 16, 2009, shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach said that Atlantis officially beat Space Shuttle Discovery for the record low amount of interim problem reports, with a total of just 54 listed since returning from STS-125. Leinbach added, "It is due to the team and the hardware processing. They just did a great job. The record will probably never be broken again in the history of the Space Shuttle Program, so congratulations to them."{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Leinbach made a similar report during a post-launch interview on May 14, 2010, saying that there were a total of 46 listed from STS-129 to STS-132.

Atlantis went through two overhauls of scheduled orbiter maintenance down periods (OMDPs) during its operational history.

Atlantis arrived at Palmdale, California in October 1992 for OMDP-1. During that visit 165 modifications were made over the next 20 months. These included the installation of a drag chute, new plumbing lines to configure the orbiter for extended duration, improved nose wheel steering, more than 800 new heat tiles and blankets, new insulation for main landing gear, and structural modifications to the airframe.{{cite web|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html|title=Atlantis (OV-104)|publisher=NASA|date=October 10, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805020222/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html|archive-date=August 5, 2011}} {{PD-notice}}

On November 5, 1997, Atlantis again arrived at Palmdale for OMDP-2 which was completed on September 24, 1998. The 130 modifications carried out during OMDP-2 included glass cockpit displays, replacement of TACAN navigation with GPS and ISS airlock and docking installation. Several weight reduction modifications were performed on the orbiter including replacement of Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation (AFRSI) insulation blankets{{cite web|url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/orbiter/tps/blankets.html|title=Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation Blankets|publisher=NASA |date=October 10, 2009|access-date=October 10, 2009|archive-date=October 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009075245/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/orbiter/tps/blankets.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} on upper surfaces with FRSI. Lightweight crew seats were installed and the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) package installed on OMDP-1 was removed to lighten Atlantis to better serve its prime mission of servicing the ISS.

During the standdown period post Columbia accident, Atlantis went through over 75 modifications to the orbiter ranging from very minor bolt change-outs to window change-outs and different fluid systems.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/115_askmission_leinbach_transcript.html|title=Mike Leinbach, STS-115 Launch Director|publisher=NASA|date=August 22, 2006|access-date=July 25, 2010}} {{PD-notice}}

Atlantis was known among the shuttle workforce as being more prone than the others in the fleet to problems that needed to be addressed while readying the vehicle for launch, leading to some nicknaming it "Britney".{{cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/06/sts-135-engineers-mfv-et-138-stringer-inspections-completed/|title=STS-135: Engineers retest MFV – ET-138 stringer inspections completed|publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com|date=June 25, 2011}}

{{Main|Space Shuttle retirement}}

File:Space Shuttle Placement Announcement - 201104120001HQ.jpg on permanent exhibition]]

NASA initially planned to withdraw Atlantis from service in 2008, as the orbiter would have been due to undergo its third scheduled OMDP; the timescale of the final retirement of the shuttle fleet was such that having the orbiter undergo this work was deemed uneconomical. It was planned that Atlantis would be kept in near-flight condition to be used as a spares source for Discovery and Endeavour. However, with the significant planned flight schedule up to 2010, the decision was taken to extend the time between OMDPs, allowing Atlantis to be retained for operations. Atlantis was subsequently swapped for one flight of each Discovery and Endeavour in the flight manifest. Atlantis had completed what was meant to be its last flight, STS-132, prior to the end of the shuttle program,{{cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2007/06/atlantis-avoids-early-retirement-will-keep-flying-to-2010/|title=Atlantis avoids early retirement – will keep flying to 2010 |publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com|last=Bergin|first=Chris|date=June 23, 2007}} but the extension of the Shuttle program into 2011 led to Atlantis being selected for STS-135, the final Space Shuttle mission in July 2011.

File:Kennedy Space Center (11655405446).jpg

Atlantis is currently displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.{{cite news|title=NYC, L.A., Kennedy Space Center, Smithsonian to get the 4 retired space shuttles |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/04/kennedy-space-center-air-and-space-museum-likely-to-get-2-of-the-4-retiring-shuttle-vehicles/1|newspaper=USA Today|date=April 12, 2011}} NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced the decision at an employee event held on April 12, 2011, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle flight: "First, here at the Kennedy Space Center where every shuttle mission and so many other historic human space flights have originated, we'll showcase my old friend, Atlantis".{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110412museums/|title=Space shuttle retirement museums announced|author=William Harwood|publisher=Spaceflight Now|date=April 12, 2011|access-date=April 13, 2011|archive-date=April 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415063717/http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110412museums/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iqc-FbRaw|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/v_iqc-FbRaw|archive-date=December 11, 2021|url-status=live|title=Homes of Retired Space Shuttle Orbiters Announcement by NASA Admin Charlie Bolden|author=Matthew Travis|publisher=SpaceflightNews.net|date=April 12, 2011|access-date=June 23, 2011}} {{cbignore}}

The Visitor Complex displays Atlantis with payload bay doors opened mounted at a 43.21° angle to give the appearance of being in orbit around the Earth.{{Cite web |title=NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis {{!}} Kennedy Space Center |url=https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/explore-attractions/shuttle-a-ship-like-no-other/featured-attraction/space-shuttle-atlantis |access-date=August 19, 2022 |website=www.kennedyspacecenter.com}} The mount angle pays tribute to the countdown that preceded every shuttle launch at KSC.{{cite news|title=Angling Atlantis: Space shuttle raised and tilted for public display|url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-113012a.html|author=Robert Z. Pearlman |publisher=Collect Space}} A multi-story digital projection of Earth rotates behind the orbiter in a {{cvt|5900|m2}} indoor facility.{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/11367-nasa-space-shuttles-museums-winners.html|title=NASA Gives Space Shuttles to Smithsonian and Museums in California, Florida and NYC|author=Robert Z. Pearlman|publisher=CollectSPACE.com|date=April 12, 2011|access-date=April 13, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/kscshuttledisplay.html|title=NASA to Enhance Shuttle Story at Kennedy with Atlantis|publisher=NASA|date=April 12, 2011|access-date=April 13, 2011}} {{PD-notice}} Ground breaking of the facility occurred in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://kennedyspacecenter.com/orbiter-announcement.aspx|title=There's No Space Like Home. Welcome Home, Atlantis!|access-date=April 14, 2010|publisher=KSC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414124732/http://kennedyspacecenter.com/orbiter-announcement.aspx|archive-date=April 14, 2011}} {{PD-notice}}

The exhibit opened on June 29, 2013.{{cite web|title=Space shuttle Atlantis exhibit opens June 29|url=http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/on-the-town/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/2/21/nasa_to_announce_gra.html|publisher=CFN13|access-date=February 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223072210/http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/on-the-town/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/2/21/nasa_to_announce_gra.html|archive-date=February 23, 2013 |url-status=dead}}

File:STS125 crew portrait1.jpg

A total of 207 individuals flew with Space Shuttle Atlantis over the course of its 33 missions.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-060210a.html|title=The legacy of space shuttle Atlantis|publisher=CollectSPACE|date=June 2, 2010|access-date=June 4, 2010}} Because the shuttle sometimes flew crew members arriving and departing Mir and the ISS, not all of them launched and landed on Atlantis.

Astronaut Clayton Anderson, ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts and Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Budarin and Anatoly Solovyev only launched on Atlantis. Similarly, astronauts Daniel Tani and Sunita Williams, as well as cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov only landed with Atlantis. Only 146 men and women both launched and landed aboard Atlantis.

Some of those people flew with Atlantis more than once. Taking them into account, 203 total seats were filled over Atlantis{{'}} 33 missions. Astronaut Jerry Ross holds the record for the most flights aboard Atlantis at five.

Astronaut Rodolfo Neri Vela who flew aboard Atlantis on STS-61-B mission in 1985 is the only Mexican to have traveled to space. ESA astronaut Dirk Frimout who flew on STS-45 as a payload specialist was the first Belgian in space. STS-46 mission specialist Claude Nicollier was the first astronaut from Switzerland. On the same flight, astronaut Franco Malerba became the first citizen of Italy to travel to space.

Astronaut Mike Massimino who flew on STS-125 mission became the first person to use Twitter in space in May 2009.{{cite web|title=Mike Massimino Becomes the First to 'Tweet' From Space|date=May 13, 2009 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/massimino_tweet.html|publisher=NASA|access-date=February 25, 2023}}

Having flown aboard Atlantis as part of the STS-132 crew in May 2010 and Discovery as part of the STS-133 crew in February/March 2011, Stephen Bowen became the first NASA astronaut to be launched on consecutive missions.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/feb/HQ_11-054_Discovery_Launches.html|title=NASA'S Shuttle Discovery Heads To Space Station On Its Final Mission|publisher=NASA|date=February 24, 2011|access-date=March 10, 2011}}

{{sticky header}}

NASA announced in 2007 that 24 helium and nitrogen gas tanks in Atlantis were older than their designed lifetime. These composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) were designed for a 10-year life and later cleared for an additional 10 years; they exceeded this life in 2005. NASA said it could not guarantee any longer that the vessels on Atlantis would not burst or explode under full pressure. Failure of these tanks could have damaged parts of the orbiter and even wound or kill ground personnel. An in-flight failure of a pressure vessel could have even resulted in the loss of the orbiter and its crew. NASA analyses originally assumed that the vessels would leak before they burst, but new tests showed that they could in fact burst before leaking.

Because the original vendor was no longer in business, and a new manufacturer could not be qualified before 2010, when the shuttles were scheduled to be retired, NASA decided to continue operations with the existing tanks. Therefore, to reduce the risk of failure and the cumulative effects of load, the vessels were maintained at 80 percent of the operating pressure as late in the launch countdown as possible, and the launch pad was cleared of all but essential personnel when pressure was increased to 100 percent. The new launch procedure was employed during some of the remaining launches of Atlantis,{{Cite web|url=http://www.space.com/news/ft_070604_aging_orbiters.html|title=Orbiters Feel Pains of Aging |access-date=November 6, 2007|publisher=Space.com|year=2007|first1=Todd|last1=Halvorson|first2=John|last2=Kelly|work=Florida Today}} but was resolved when the two COPVs deemed to have the highest risk of failure were replaced.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/07/nasa-reviews-copv-for-final-program-flights/|title=NASA Reviews COPV Reliability Concerns for Final Program Flights|access-date=July 19, 2010|website=NASASpaceflight.com|first=Chris|last=Gebhardt|date=July 18, 2010}}

After the STS-125 mission, a work light knob was discovered jammed in the space between one of Atlantis{{'}}s front interior windows and the Orbiter dashboard structure. The knob was believed to have entered the space during flight, when the pressurized Orbiter was expanded to its maximum size. Then, once back on Earth, the Orbiter contracted, jamming the knob in place. Leaving "as-is" was considered unsafe for flight, and some options for removal (including window replacement) would have included a 6-month delay of Atlantis{{'}}s next mission (planned to be STS-129). Had the removal of the knob been unsuccessful, the worst-case scenario was that Atlantis could have been retired from the fleet, leaving Discovery and Endeavour to complete the manifest alone. On June 29, 2009, Atlantis was pressurized to {{convert|17|psi|lk=in|abbr=on}} (3 psi above ambient), which forced the Orbiter to expand slightly. The knob was then frozen with dry ice, and successfully removed.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/06/atlantis-window-pane-begins-longerons-damaged-accident/|title=Knob removed, Atlantis window inspection begins – longerons in cart accident|access-date=June 30, 2009|publisher=NASASpaceflight.com|year=2009|first=Chris|last=Bergin}} Small areas of damage to the window were discovered where the edges of the knob had been embedded into the pane.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/06/window-damage-on-atlantis-threatens-six-month-delay-to-sts-129/|title=Window damage on Atlantis threatens six-month delay to STS-129|access-date=June 25, 2009|publisher=NASASpaceflight.com|year=2009|first=Chris|last=Bergin}} Subsequent investigation of the window damage discovered a maximum defect depth of approximately {{convert|0.0003|in|μm|abbr=on|lk=out}}, less than the reportable depth threshold of {{convert|0.0015|in|μm|abbr=on|lk=out}} and not serious enough to warrant the pane's replacement.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/07/endeavour-into-countdown-atlantis-window-damage-cleared/|title=Endeavour heads into countdown – Atlantis window damage cleared|access-date=July 31, 2009|publisher=NASASpaceflight.com|year=2009|first=Chris|last=Bergin}}

* Mission canceled following the Challenger disaster.

• The 1986 film SpaceCamp involves a crew of students at United States Space Camp that are accidentally launched into space on-board Atlantis.
• The 1990 novel Earth by David Brin includes Atlantis, depicted as stranded on Rapa Nui in tribute to G. Harry Stine's serialized novel Shuttle Down, published in 1980.
• Atlantis is featured in the 1998 science-fiction film Deep Impact, in which it is used to transport astronauts to the orbiting “Messiah” spacecraft at the start of their comet intercept mission.
• Atlantis is also featured in, and destroyed in, the 1998 science-fiction film Armageddon, which was released almost two months after Deep Impact.
• Atlantis is the setting and title of episode 2 of season 1 of the revived continuation of the TV series Quantum Leap, which features a fictional mission set between the real 1997 and 2000 missions (STS-86 and STS-101).
• Atlantis was featured in the British program Chucklevision{{'}}s episode "Kidnapped", in which Paul & Barry Chuckle were looking for Dan the Van but a lady redirected them to the Space Shuttle Atlantis; footage from STS-45 was used.
• A dual finned space shuttle inspired by Atlantis appeared in the 2010 anime movie Metal Fight Beyblade vs the Sun: Sol Blaze, the Scorching Hot Invader.

{{Portal|Spaceflight|1980s}}

• List of human spaceflights
• List of Space Shuttle crews
• List of Space Shuttle missions
• STS-135

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Space Shuttle Atlantis}}

{{Space Shuttle Mission Link}}

• [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.html Orbiter Vehicles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209023806/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.html |date=February 9, 2021 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805020222/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (OV-104)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928002632/http://www.exploration-space.com/16-apr-2007-nasa.html 16 April 2007: Consolidated Launch Manifest: Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100521011043/http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/42752/space-shuttle-atlantis-last-flight Space Shuttle Atlantis: Last Flight] – slideshow by Life magazine
• [http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/first_of_the_last_space_shuttl.html Atlantis photo essay] From Boston.com.
• [https://archive.today/20130222175101/http://nasatech.net/ntTRAtlantis_PAGE.html Transition & Retirement: Hi-res spherical panoramas of the processing]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111125055217/http://atlantis.stickrboo.com/ Atlantis StickrBoo]
• {{HAER |survey=TX-116-B |id=tx1108 |title=Space Transportation System, Orbiter Atlantis (OV-104), Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX |photos=24 |cap=5}}

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