Space Shuttle Atlantis, Cape Canaveral, Florida

Sign in to add this photo to your favorites and desktop wallpaper rotation.

Space Shuttle Atlantis was one of NASA's fleet of Space Shuttles, along with Discovery, Endeavour, and Columbia. It was named after the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. Atlantis was the fourth operational shuttle to be built and was delivered to NASA in April 1985. Atlantis flew its first mission, STS-51-J, in October 1985. Over the course of its operational life, Atlantis flew a total of 33 missions, including the final mission of the Space Shuttle program, STS-135, in July 2011. Some notable missions of Atlantis include the deployment of the Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter, the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope, and multiple missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Atlantis also flew the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009. After its final mission, Atlantis was retired and is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. It is a popular attraction for visitors to learn about NASA's Space Shuttle program and the history of space exploration.