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On This Day In Space: July 8, 2011: Space shuttle Atlantis launches on final mission

On This Day In Space: July 8, 2011: Space shuttle Atlantis launches on final mission_64aabcb72ca59.jpeg

On July 8, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis launched on its final mission.

Photos: Rare Last Look Inside Shuttle Atlantis

Atlantis was the last of NASA’s space shuttles to fly into space. It went on 33 missions since 1985, ferrying astronauts to and from space stations, and even doing some top-secret missions for the U.S. military.

NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis launches on July 8, 2011, kicking off STS-135, the final mission of the shuttle program. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Mission STS-135 and its 4-member crew brought much-needed supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.

Atlantis landed for a final time on July 21, 2011. By the end of this final mission, Atlantis had traveled nearly 126,000,000 miles and orbited Earth 4,848 times.

On This Day in Space Archive!

Still not enough space? Don’t forget to check out our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week.

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