Atlantis, the space shuttle, commanded by Chris Ferguson with three other crew, landed after a 13-day mission to the International Space Station and restocking the orbiting lab with a year’s worth of supplies.
It touched down safely at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, bringing an end to the 30-year US shuttle program. This is the last flight by the shuttle. Its first flight was in 1985.
Atlantis has been in service for the last 30 years. The Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) was the fourth operational Space Shuttle to be constructed by the Rockwell International company in Southern California, and it was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida in April 1985.
Atlantis was the only orbiter which lacked the ability to draw power from the International Space Station while docked there; it had to continue to provide its own power through fuel cells.