← →
SPACE WATCH · NASA TV · STS-135: Last Space Shuttle Mission
Boeing: Slide show · Book (pdf)
Launch Date: 11:26 a.m. EDT, July 8, 2011
ET X-rays
NASA – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to conduct Computed Radiography (CR) X-ray scans of 50 support beams, called stringers, on the shuttle-facing side of Atlantis’ external tank at Launch Pad 39A.
The hi-tech images are being taken of the tops and bottoms of the 21-foot long beams, which are located on the tank’s intertank section. The scans will confirm there are no issues with Atlantis’ tank. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
STS-135 Crew at Kennedy for TCDT
At the Shuttle Landing Facility, NASA Astronaut Jerry Ross (center) and space shuttle Atlantis’ NASA Flow Director, Angie Brewer (right) are on hand greet the STS-135 crew. From left are Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus, Pilot Doug Hurley, Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim.
The crew are at Kennedy at to participate in a launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training in preparation for the upcoming STS-135 mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett June 20, 2011
Suit Check
In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus checks the fit of her launch and landing suit and helmet.
The STS-135 crew is at Kennedy to participate in a launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training in preparation for the upcoming STS-135 mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
STA Landing Practice
STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Doug Hurley take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to perform touch-and-go landings aboard their Shuttle Training Aircrafts (STA).
An STA is a Gulfstream II jet that is modified to mimic the shuttle’s handling during the final phase of landing. Ferguson and Hurley will practice landings as part of standard training before space shuttle Atlantis’ launch to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder
M113 Driver Training
Battalion Chief David Seymour provides supervision while space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-135 crew members participate in M113 armored personnel carrier training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Driving the M113 is Pilot Doug Hurley; seated are Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus (background right) and Commander Chris Ferguson.
An M113 is kept at the foot of the launch pad in case an emergency exit from the launch pad is needed and every shuttle crew is trained on driving the vehicle before launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Pad Q and A
The STS-135 crew members gather at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A in Florida for a question-and-answer session with media.
From left are Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.
Space shuttle Atlantis’ astronauts are at Kennedy to participate in a launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett June 22, 2011
By Olivia B. Waxman – At 1:00 pm EDT, the asteroid dubbed 2011 MD — only 5-20 meters in diameter — will narrowly miss the Earth by about 
R&D Mag – Cynthia Collins, assistant professor of 
By Arthur Neslen – EU officials believe that a global deal to cut maritime carbon emissions is currently unachievable and are instead talking up an initiative by the Bahamas to regulate the world’s shipping fleets as an alternative.
