Space Shuttle Atlantis
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Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is one of five NASA space shuttles. It was the fourth shuttle built and as of 2003 is one of the three shuttles remaining in the fleet.
Atlantis was named in honor of the first United States oceanographic research vessel, a two-masted sailing ship operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.
As the fourth shuttle, Atlantis benefited from experience gained in the construction of its predecessors. On roll-out it weighed nearly 7,000 lb (3 t) less than the first operational shuttle, Columbia, and required about half the time to be built. Structural spare parts also built along with Atlantis were used in the later construction of the fifth shuttle, Endeavour.
Atlantis made its first flight in October 1985, conducting classified military activities, one of five such flights. In 1989 Atlantis deployed two planetary probes, Magellan and Galileo, and in 1991 it deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
Beginning in 1995, Atlantis made seven straight flights to the Russian space station Mir. On the second Mir flight it delivered a docking module and on the subsequent flights it conducted astronaut exchanges.
From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis underwent refitting operations, with about 165 modifications made to the shuttle. It has made six flights since then, all involving assembly activities at the International Space Station.
In its most recent flight, in October 2002, Atlantis and its six-person crew completed an 11-day mission to the International Space Station that involved three space walks.
Flights
Space Shuttle Atlantis has flown 26 flights, spent 220.40-days in space, completed 3,468 orbits, and flown 89,908,732 miles in total, as of February 2003.
| Date | Designation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 October 3 | STS-51-J | Mission dedicated to Department of Defense |
| 1985 November 26 | STS-61-B | 3 communications satellites deployed: MORELOS-B, AUSSAT-2 and SATCOM KU-2. |
| 1988 December 2 | STS-27 | Mission dedicated to Department of Defense |
| 1989 May 4 | STS-30 | Deployed Magellan probe |
| 1989 October 18 | STS-34 | Deployed Galileo probe |
| 1990 February 28 | STS-36 | Mission dedicated to Department of Defense |
| 1990 November 15 | STS-38 | Mission dedicated to Department of Defense |
| 1991 April 5 | STS-37 | Deployed Compton Gamma Ray Observatory |
| 1991 August 2 | STS-43 | Deployed TDRS-5 |
| 1991 November 24 | STS-44 | Mission dedicated to Department of Defense |
| 1992 March 24 | STS-45 | Carried Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) mission 1 |
| 1992 July 31 | STS-46 | Deployed ESA European Retrievable Carrier and NASA Tethered Satellite System |
| 1994 November 3 | STS-66 | Carried ATLAS mission 3 |
| 1995 June 27 | STS-71 | First shuttle docking with space station Mir |
| 1995 November 12 | STS-74 | Carried docking module to Mir |
| 1996 March 22 | STS-76 | Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Shannon Lucid |
| 1996 September 16 | STS-79 | Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Shannon Lucid and John Blaha |
| 1997 January 12 | STS-81 | Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of John Blaha and Jerry Linenger |
| 1997 May 15 | STS-84 | Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Jerry Linenger and Michael Foale |
| 1997 September 25 | STS-86 | Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Michael Foale and David A. Wolf |
| 2000 May 19 | STS-101 | International Space Station assembly mission |
| 2000 September 8 | STS-106 | International Space Station assembly mission |
| 2001 February 7 | STS-98 | International Space Station assembly mission |
| 2001 July 12 | STS-104 | International Space Station assembly mission |
| 2002 April 8 | STS-110 | International Space Station assembly mission |
| 2002 October 7 | STS-112 | International Space Station assembly mission |
See also
External links
- Orbiter Vehicles (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.html)
- Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (OV-104) (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/atlantis.html)da:Atlantis (rumfærge)
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