Photos of space from the Atlantis Shuttle's last mission and of astronauts Chris Ferguson and mission Sandy Magnus
Space shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 21, 2011. Atlantis and its four-member crew are back at the space center on Thursday after a mission to resupply the International Space Station, ending a 12-year program to build and service the orbital research outpost.JOE SKIPPER
Space shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.Craig Rubadoux/AP
The space shuttle Atlantis releases a parachut upon landing on July 21, 2011 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ending its 13-day mission.Pierre Ducharme/AFP/Getty Images
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks to the media after Space Shuttle Atlantis anded at Kennedy Space Center July 21, 2011 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Space shuttle Atlantis Mission Commander Chris Ferguson (R) is greeted after landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 21, 2011.Scott Audette/Reuters
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (R) greets space shuttle Atlantis mission specialist Sandy Magnus (L) on the runway on July 21, 2011 at Kenedy Space Center in Florida after Atlantis landed.Scott Audette/AFP/Getty Images
Space shuttle Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson touches tiles on the underside of the shuttle on July 21, 2011 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after Atlantis landed.Scott Audette/AFP/Getty Images
Technicians work on the space shuttle Atlantis after its landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 21, 2011.Steve/Nesius/Reuters
Space shuttle Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson (R) speaks on the runway July 21, 2011 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after Atlantis landed. Listening, from L-R: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Atlantis mission specialists Rex Walheim, Sandy Magnus and pilot Doug HurleyScott Audette/AFP/Getty Images
Space shuttle Atlantis crewmembers (L-R) Mission Specialist Rex Waldheim, Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Commander Chris Ferguson stand together with firefighters after landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 21, 2011.Scott Audette/Reuters
Space shuttle Atlantis pilot Doug Hurley (2nd R) shakes hands with commander Chris Ferguson (R) as mission specialists Sandy Magnus (2nd L) and Rex Walheim (L) watch on the runway July 21, 2011 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Scott Audette/AFP/Getty Images
Space shuttle Atlantis crew pose on the runway July 21, 2011 at Kenedy Space Center in Florida after Atlantis landed.Scott Audette/AFP/Getty Images
The space shuttle Atlantis is serviced on July 21, 2011 after landing on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images
The last U.S. space shuttle Atlantis departs the International Space Station in this still image taken from NASA TV on July 19, 2011.
The International Space Station is seen through the docking port of the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis as it departs the station in this still image taken from NASA TV on July 19, 2011.
The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis is seen with a solar panel of the International Space Station in the foreground as it departs the station in this still image taken from NASA TV on July 19, 2011.
This NASA photo relealsed on July 18, 2011 shows astronaut Mike Fossum as he carries a Robotics Refueling Mission (RRM) payload from Atlantis' cargo bay to a platform used by the space station's famous robot DEXTRE. Pictured above on the far left, DEXTRE prepares to help move a failed space pump back to Atlantis.
Space shuttle Atlantis is pictured while still docked with the International Space Station in this July 18, 2011 NASA handout photo taken by a crew member aboard the station. The Atlantis, the last U.S. space shuttle, departed the International Space Station on Tuesday, ending a 12-year program to build and service the orbital outpost, the primary legacy of NASA's shuttle fleet.NASA/Reuters
This July 18, 2011 picture shows a special US flag and mounted on the hatch leading to Atlantis from the International Space Station. The flag was flown on the first space shuttle mission, STS-1, and flew on this mission to be presented to the space station crew. It will remain onboard until the next crew launched from the U.S. will retrieve it for return to Earth. It will fly from Earth again, with the crew that launches from the U.S. on a journey of exploration beyond Earth orbit.
IN SPACE - JULY 16:The Southern Lights or Aurora Australis (L), the port side wing of NASA space shuttle Atlantis (R) and its Orbital Boom Sensor System robot arm extension (C) can be seen from the International Space Station July 16, 2011 in space.
IN SPACE - JULY 16:NASA astronaut Sandy Magnus mission specialist for space shuttle Atlantis STS-135, takes in the view while sitting in the Cupola addition of the International Space Station July 16, 2011 in space.
IN SPACE - JULY 15: STS-135 crew consisting of NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim; the Expedition 28 crewmembers are JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, NASA astronauts Ron Garan and Mike Fossum, and Russian cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko, Alexander Samokutyaev and Sergei Volkov form a microgravity circle to pose for a portrait aboard the orbiting complex's Kibo laboratory of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on the International Space Station July 15, 2011 in space.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (top R) answers a question as the members of the space shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station crews gather for a joint crew news conference in this image from NASA TV July 15, 2011. The astronauts are (L-R) Mike Fossum, Doug Hurley, Chris Ferguson, Rex Walheim, Sandy Magnus, Andrey Borisenko, Sergei Volkov, Alexander Samokutyaev, Ron Garan and Satoshi Furukawa.NASA TV
Space shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station astronauts gather for one of the final meals shared between shuttle and station crews aboard the orbiting laboratory in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 14, 2011.
In this image provided by NASA the "Tongue of the Ocean" and several of the 2700 islands in the Bahamas chain and part of peninsular Florida, at right, including Cape Canaveral, the location of the Kennedy Space Center, are easily recognized in this scene photographed by one of the STS-135 crewmembers while Atlantis was docked with the International Space Station Tuesday July 12, 2011.The Associated Press
NASA astronaut Mike Fossum checks out his pistol grip tool in the International Space Station's Quest airlock prior to his July 12 spacewalk in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 12, 2011.NASA
Space shuttle Atlantis astronauts (L-R) Commander Chris Ferguson, Rex Walheim, Sandy Mangus and Pilot Doug Hurley wave during a crew news conference from the International Space Station.
This NASA photo obtained on July 15, 2011 shows the International Space Station with Space Shuttle Atlantis on July 12, 2011 docked on the right and a Russian Soyuz on the far left. In the foreground is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment installed during the STS-134 mission.HO
Space shuttle Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson (R) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (L) work in the International Space Station's Quest airlock inspecting space suits in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 12, 2011.NASA/Reuters
Spacewalkers Mike Fossum (R) and Ron Garan (L) are assisted by space shuttle Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson (2nd L) and Rex Walheim in the International Space Station's Quest airlock prior to their July 12 spacewalk in this photo provided by NASA.NASA/Reuters/Reuters
NASA spacewalker Mike Fossum's helmet visor mirrors a panoramic scene of the docked International Space Station with the space shuttle Atlantis and the blue and white Earth below in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 12, 2011.NASA/Reuters
Spacewalker Ron Garan rides on the International Space Station's robotic arm with the Earth as a backdrop as he transfers a failed pump module to the cargo bay of space shuttle Atlantis during the final spacewalk, during a shuttle mission in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 12, 2011.NASA/Reuters
NASA astronauts Ron Garan (top left) and Mike Fossum (top right), from left front, NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander, Doug Hurley, pilot, and Rex Walheim, mission specialists pose for photographs in the Quest airlock of the International Space Station following a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk July 12, 2011 in space.NASA/Getty Images
NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, restrained on the end of the space station remote manipulator system or Canadarm2, takes a picture in front of the space shuttle Atlantis during the final spacewalk of a shuttle mission in this photo taken July 12, 2011.
NASA astronaut Sandy Magnus (L) and space shuttle Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson move supplies and equipment inside Node 2 or or the Harmony module of the International Space Station on July 11, 2011.
NASA astronaut Sandy Magnus, STS-135 mission specialist floats about the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module aboard space shuttle Atlantis as its docked to the International Space Station July 11, 2011 in space.
Space shuttle Atlantis Pilot Doug Hurley moves around supplies and equipment in the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module of the International Space Station in this photo taken July 11, 2011.
The space shuttle Atlantis is seen prior to docking with the International Space Station with part of a Russian Progress spacecraft docked to the station in the foreground on July 10, 2011.
Spacewalker Ron Garan rides on the International Space Station's robotic arm as he transfers a failed pump module to the cargo bay of space shuttle Atlantis during the final spacewalk during a shuttle mission in this photo taken July 12, 2011.
In this Sunday, July 10, 2011 photo provided by NASA, the space shuttle Atlantis is seen over the Bahamas prior to a perfect docking with the International Space Station. Part of a Russian Progress spacecraft which is docked to the station is in the foreground.
This Sunday, July 10, 2011 photo provided by NASA shows the docking mechanism in space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay shortly before the shuttle docked with the International Space Station.The Associated Press
In this Sunday, July 10, 2011 photo provided by NASA, NASA astronaut Sandy Magnus, STS-135 mission specialist, is pictured with only a small portion of supplies and equipment on the middeck of the space shuttle Atlantis during the very busy third day in space as the four astronauts prepare to join a six-person crew aboard the International Space Station.The Associated Press
Astronaut Ron Garan holds the pump module as he is moved on the International Space Station's Canadarm2 toward the space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay for the faulty module's return to Earth in this image from NASA TV July 12, 2011.
JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (L) and space shuttle Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson (R) help International Space Station flight engineer Mike Fossum prepare for his spacewalk inside the Quest airlock in this image from NASA TV July 12, 2011.
The Great Salt Lake in Utah serves as a striking visual marker for the STS-135 astronauts orbiting over North America in the space shuttle Atlantis Saturday July 9, 2011.
NASA astronaut Ronald Garan attached to the Canada Arm 2 moves a failed ammonia pump module from a storage platform on the International Space Station to the cargo bay of the space shuttle Atlantis during a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk July 12, 2011 in space.
NASA astronaut Ronald Garan (L) installs a foot restraint on the Canada Arm 2 as he and astronaut Michael Fossum do repairs on the International Space Station during a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk July 12, 2011 in space.
NASA managers look on from Firing Room Four of the Launch Control Center as the space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from Launch Pad 39A in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 8, 2011.
In this video screen grab provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NASA space shuttle Atlantis docks for the last time with the International Space Station July 10, 2011 in space.
IN SPACE - JULY 10: the International Space Station photographed by a crewmember onboard the space shuttle Atlantis as the two spacecraft performed rendezvous and docking operations on the STS-135 mission's third day in Earth orbit July 10, 2011 in space.
The space shuttle Atlantis is seen docked to the International Space Station with the earth in the background in this image from NASA TV July 10, 2011.
Space shuttle Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson (R) and mission specialist Sandy Magnus are pictured on the aft flight deck of the orbiter during the mission's second day of activities in Earth orbit in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 9, 2011.
IN SPACE - JULY 9: the southernmost part of Italy is seen from the Earth-orbiting NASA space shuttle Atlantis on the second day of activity July 09, 2011 in space.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden hugs Launch Director Michael Leinbach (R) in the firing room of the Launch Control Center shortly after the space shuttle Atlantis launched in this photo provided by NASA and taken July 8, 2011.