The Most Unforgettable Space Shuttle Pictures

Getting Misty
Photograph from NASA via Reuters
Sitting on a rolling platform, the space shuttle Challenger emerges from the mist at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it heads toward the launch pad, just visible in the distance, in November 1982. Challenger lifted off on its maiden voyage in April 1983 for the sixth shuttle mission.
When the space shuttle Atlantis lands on Thursday, it will wrap up STS-135, the final shuttle mission in the U.S. program's 30-year history. This shot is among those chosen by National Geographic photo editors as the most unforgettable pictures from the entire shuttle program.
Even with the tragic losses of Challenger and Columbia, the space shuttle has become an icon among U.S. science and technology achievements. During the past three decades, shuttles carried the first U.S. woman and the first African American into space, deployed famous satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and delivered valuable parts and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
"The space shuttle has been with us at the heart and soul of the human spaceflight program for about 30 years, and it's a little sad to see it go away," STS-135 mission commander Christopher Ferguson recently told reporters in a televised interview from the ISS.
"It's going to be an emotional moment for a lot of people that dedicated their lives to the shuttle program for 30 years. But we're going to try to keep it upbeat ... We're going to try to make it a celebration of the tremendous crowning achievements that have occurred."
Published July 20, 2011
American Woman
Photograph courtesy NASA
Astronaut Sally Ride floats in front of the control panels for the space shuttleChallenger on June 25, 1983, while serving as a mission specialist for STS-7. Ride became the first U.S. woman in space during this mission.
Published July 20, 2011
Starry Night
Photograph courtesy NASA
The space shuttle Endeavour—payload bay doors ajar—rushes past Earth while docked to the International Space Station on May 28, 2011.
(See pictures from the final flight of Endeavour.)
Published July 20, 2011
Hubble Huggers
Photograph courtesy NASA
Astronauts John M. Grunsfeld (right) and Richard M. Linnehan stand next to the Hubble Space Telescope, which was brought into the space shuttle Columbia's payload bay for repairs during STS-109, as seen on March 8, 2002.
(Related: "Shuttle Crew on Hairy Hubble Mission, Humans vs. Robots.")
Published July 20, 2011
Earning Its Stripes
Photograph courtesy NASA
Suspended above the planet, the space shuttle Endeavour is silhouetted against the layers of Earth's atmosphere in a picture taken by an ISS crew member on February 9, 2010. The shot shows the shuttle shortly before it docked with the space station during STS-130.
(Related pictures: "Twenty Stunning Shots of Earth From Space.")
Published July 20, 2011
Two Satellites, Slightly Used
Photograph from NASA via Reuters
Seen outside the space shuttle Discovery during STS-51-A, astronaut Dale Gardner enjoys a moment of levity as he completes a spacewalk to recover two broken communications satellites from orbit on November 14, 1984. Astronaut Joseph P. Allen IV is seen reflected in Gardner's helmet visor.
(Also see "Space Shuttle 'Retirement Homes' Announced.")
Published July 20, 2011
First to Launch
Photograph courtesy NASA
The space shuttle Columbia sits on a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on March 5, 1981. Columbia launched on the first shuttle flight, STS-1, on April 12, 1981. (Read "When the Space Shuttle Finally Flies" from the March 1981 issue of National Geographic magazine.)
Following the first two launches, NASA calculated that they could safely shave 600 pounds (272 kilograms) from a shuttle's overall launch weight by not painting the large external fuel tank white and instead leaving its orange insulating foam exposed.
Published July 20, 2011
Lighting the Night
Photograph by Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A softly glowing plume is all that remains visible of the space shuttle Endeavour after a nighttime launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on March 11, 2008.
(Related: "Tunguksa Blast Mystery Solved by Space Shuttle?")
Published July 20, 2011
Enterprise Crew
Photograph from AP
Originally slated to bear the name Constitution, the first space shuttle to be built was dubbed Enterprise following a write-in campaign from Star Trek fans. Above, cast members from the science-fiction show attend the shuttle's rollout ceremony in Palmdale, California, on September 17, 1976.
From left to right: Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Vulcan science officer Spock; George Takei, who was helmsman Hikaru Sulu; DeForest Kelly, who was chief medical officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy; and James Doohan, who was chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott.
(Also see "Star Trek's New Ship: It's Not Your Grandfather's Enterprise" in the National Geographic magazine blog Pop Omnivore.)
Published July 20, 2011
Launch Lovers
Photograph by Shawn Thew, European Pressphoto Agency
Spectators gather in the late-morning heat to watch the space shuttle Atlantis lift off for STS-135, the final shuttle mission, on July 8, 2011.
(Watch NASA video of the final shuttle launch.)
Published July 20, 2011
Tragedy Strikes
Photograph from AP
A cloud of debris spreads in the sky over coastal Florida as the space shuttle Challenger breaks apart on January 28, 1986. The orbiter disintegrated 74 seconds after launch during STS-51-L, killing all seven crew members.
(See pictures: "Five Myths of Challenger Shuttle Disaster Debunked.")
Published July 20, 2011
Global Reach
Photograph courtesy NASA
Earth seems ready for loading into the space shuttle Endeavour's open payload bay in a picture taken in December 1998 using an onboard IMAX camera. The large-format camera was sent into space during STS-88 in part to film the installation of the Unity Node, the first U.S. module for the International Space Station.
(Get a review and see footage from the IMAX movie Hubble 3-D.)
Published July 20, 2011
Exposed Engine
Photograph by Jon T. Schneeberger, National Geographic
Technicians work on a test firing of a space shuttle main engine at the National Space Technology Laboratories in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, before the first flight of Columbia in 1981. (See more behind-the-scenes pictures from the first shuttle launch.)
Published July 20, 2011
All Hands on Deck
Photograph courtesy NASA
The crew of STS-102 works on the flight deck of the space shuttle Discovery to dock the shuttle with the International Space Station on March 10, 2001.
Published July 20, 2011
Parachute Check
Photograph by Jon T. Schneeberger, National Geographic
A technician inspects one of the nylon parachutes used to slow the descent of a space shuttle's solid rocket boosters before STS-1 in 1981. The 80-ton rockets detached shortly after launch and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, where they were recovered for reuse.
Published July 20, 2011
Big Apple Shuttle
Photograph by Richard Drew, AP
Riding piggyback on a Boeing 747, the test shuttle Enterprise glides over the New York City skyline in June 1983. Unable to fly like airplanes under their own power, shuttle orbiters had to be transported long distances atop of other aircraft.
(See more rare behind-the-scenes views of the space shuttle.)
Published July 20, 2011
Florida Twister
Photograph by Wilfredo Lee, AP
A tornado forms a dark column near the launch pad, where the space shuttle Columbia waits to launch on STS-93, as seen on July 20, 1999. The shuttle lifted off July 23, carrying NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory into orbit.
Published July 20, 2011
Mission Control
Photograph courtesy NASA
Staff at the Mission Control Center of Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, monitor the landing of the space shuttle Columbia on April 14, 1981, after the first ever shuttle mission to reach orbit.
Published July 20, 2011
Plume Tendrils
Photograph courtesy NASA
Curling like bizarre sigils in the sky, plume remnants from the June 8, 2007, launch of the space shuttle Atlantis glow with the light of the setting sun. The so-called night-shining clouds created by the launch are seen over the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB.
(Related pictures: "'Night Shining' Clouds Getting Brighter.")
Published July 20, 2011
Hanging Out
Photograph courtesy NASA
Seen from the space shuttle's payload bay, astronaut Mark Lee goes for an untethered spacewalk outside Discovery in September 1994.
(Related: "Shuttle Astronaut's Four Most Extraordinary Moments.")
Published July 20, 2011
Line Up for Landing
Photograph courtesy NASA
A huge crowd—many driving recreational vehicles—gathers to watch the space shuttle Columbia land on July 4, 1982, at Edwards Air Force Base in California at the end of STS-4.
Published July 20, 2011
Grim Legacy
Photograph by Christine S. Diamond, Lufkin Daily News/AFP/Getty Images
A charred astronaut helmet lying in the grass near Norwood, Texas, was among the debris found after the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry on February 1, 2003. The orbiter had completed STS-107 and was returning for landing, but damaged heat shielding caused the craft to disintegrate, killing all seven crew members.
Published July 20, 2011
Uplifting Sight
Photograph by Scott Audette, Reuters
In preparation for STS-135, the space shuttle Atlantis is lifted high inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 18, 2011, so it can be attached to the "stack"—the combination of the large external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters.
Published July 20, 2011
Southern Comfort
Photograph courtesy NASA
The gentle green glow of the aurora australis—or southern lights—curls over Earth in a picture taken by an astronaut aboard the space shuttle Discovery on August 6, 2005.
Published July 20, 2011
Pool Cues
Photograph courtesy NASA
Like a delicate water ballet, astronauts practice for a shuttle mission on December 10, 1997, in the Sonny Carter Training Facility—a giant swimming pool filled with life-size replicas of space hardware—at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Published July 20, 2011
Surfin' U.S.A.
Photograph by Duffin McGee, Reuters
Cocoa Beach surfers watch from the water as the space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from nearby Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 8, 2000.
Next: "After Space Shuttle, Does U.S. Have a Future in Space?" >>
Published July 20, 2011