30 Years Of Space Shuttle Missions
Looking back as Atlantis makes its final landing, ending NASA's shuttle program.
Space Shuttle's Final Flight: Looking Back on 30 Years of History
Space Shuttle Atlantis landed for the last time in the half-light before dawn at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 21, 2011. "After serving the world for 30 years, the space shuttle has found its place in history," said Christopher Ferguson, the astronaut who commanded Atlantis' final mission, by radio to mission control. "Wheels stop." This is the final mission of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981 with the launch of Colombia.
(Don Emmert/AP Photo)
