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After 25 years and 120 million miles of spaceflight, NASA's space shuttle Atlantis has flown its final planned mission with life as a museum exhibit ahead in its future. But the space plane is leaving an impressive legacy in its wake.
Atlantis returned to Earth Wednesday with a smooth landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida that capped a 12-day trek to the International Space Station. NASA is retiring the space shuttles this year, with just two more flights remaining after this one.
"We're going to call it a mission. It was a lot of fun," Atlantis commander Kenneth Ham told Mission Control after landing.
Just hours before landing, the lifetime odometer on Atlantis passed the 120 million-mile (194 million-km) mark after 32 missions – a milestone that awed the shuttle's six-man crew.
Ham said that it was "pretty darn awesome."
Atlantis delivered a new Russian room along with some vital new batteries and spare parts to the International Space Station. It marked NASA's 132nd shuttle flight since 1981.
"The legacy of Atlantis, now in the history books," Mission Control said.
Here's a look at the numbers, according to NASA, that are driving Atlantis' 25-year space legacy:
Miles traveled in space
When Atlantis launched into space on May 14, it had already flown about 115.7 million miles (186 million km) during its 31 previous space missions.
This mission, STS-132, is the shuttle's 32nd spaceflight and tacked on another 4.8 million miles (7.7 million km) to Atlantis' odometer. The total miles in space: 120,650,907 miles (194,168,813 km).
During its trips to space, Atlantis has visited two space stations (the International Space Station and Russia's Mir space station) as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.
Atlantis' landing in Florida marked the 75th shuttle landing in Florida and the 58th mission to land at the spaceport during daylight.
Atlantis returned to Earth Wednesday with a smooth landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida that capped a 12-day trek to the International Space Station. NASA is retiring the space shuttles this year, with just two more flights remaining after this one.
"We're going to call it a mission. It was a lot of fun," Atlantis commander Kenneth Ham told Mission Control after landing.
Just hours before landing, the lifetime odometer on Atlantis passed the 120 million-mile (194 million-km) mark after 32 missions – a milestone that awed the shuttle's six-man crew.
Ham said that it was "pretty darn awesome."
Atlantis delivered a new Russian room along with some vital new batteries and spare parts to the International Space Station. It marked NASA's 132nd shuttle flight since 1981.
"The legacy of Atlantis, now in the history books," Mission Control said.
Here's a look at the numbers, according to NASA, that are driving Atlantis' 25-year space legacy:
Miles traveled in space
When Atlantis launched into space on May 14, it had already flown about 115.7 million miles (186 million km) during its 31 previous space missions.
This mission, STS-132, is the shuttle's 32nd spaceflight and tacked on another 4.8 million miles (7.7 million km) to Atlantis' odometer. The total miles in space: 120,650,907 miles (194,168,813 km).
During its trips to space, Atlantis has visited two space stations (the International Space Station and Russia's Mir space station) as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.
Atlantis' landing in Florida marked the 75th shuttle landing in Florida and the 58th mission to land at the spaceport during daylight.