Atlantis and the Final Flight of the Space Shuttle
On the morning of July 8, 2011, hundreds of thousands of spectators gathered along the coast of Florida to witness an unforgettable moment in aerospace history. At 11:29 a.m., the space shuttle Atlantis roared off Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, cutting through thick gray clouds toward low Earth orbit. This mission, designated STS-135, marked the 135th and final flight of NASA's thirty-year Space Shuttle Program. For three decades, these winged orbiters had carried astronauts, deployed groundbreaking telescopes, and helped construct the largest laboratory in space. Now, Atlantis had one last vital job to do.
Unlike typical shuttle missions that carried six or seven astronauts, STS-135 flew with a lean crew of just four: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. NASA intentionally kept the crew small for safety reasons. Because this was the final shuttle flight, there was no other orbiter waiting on standby to perform a rescue mission if Atlantis suffered severe damage in orbit. Instead, if an emergency occurred, the four astronauts would have had to seek refuge aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and gradually return to Earth aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft over the course of a year. Fortunately, that contingency plan was never needed.
- aerospace:
- The industry and science concerned with flight both within Earth's atmosphere and in outer space.
- orbiters:
- Spacecraft designed to circle a planet or celestial body without landing immediately.
- contingency:
- A backup plan designed to handle a possible future emergency or unexpected event.
- logistics:
- The detailed coordination of moving, storing, and supplying equipment and materials.
- payload:
- The cargo, scientific instruments, or passengers carried by an aircraft or spacecraft.
- microgravity:
- The condition of apparent weightlessness experienced in orbit where gravity seems very weak.
- plasma:
- A superheated, glowing gas composed of charged particles formed under extreme conditions.
- ingenuity:
- The quality of being clever, inventive, and resourceful in solving complex problems.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What historical milestone did mission STS-135 represent in American spaceflight?
- 2Why did NASA restrict the crew size of STS-135 to only four astronauts?
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About this explanatory article passage for Middle School
“Atlantis and the Final Flight of the Space Shuttle” is a explanatory article reading passage about STS-135 and the End of the Space Shuttle Program, written for Middle School. It takes about 4 minutes to read (556 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.