Space Shuttle Atlantis Collage – ca. 2011
Happy Flag Day! The American flag on this collage is not your average flag; it has the distinction as having flown in space! The flag and crew mission patch both travelled aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station during the Atlantis mission STS-135. This was the final flight of the American Space Shuttle program.
The final flight of the American Space Shuttle program, STS-135, launched on July 8, 2011 and landed on July 21, 2011. It was the 135th space shuttle mission, and the 33rd flight of Atlantis. Overall, Atlantis travelled more than 5.2 million miles, completed 200 orbits of Earth, and spent a total of 307 days in space. On her final flight, she carried a crew of four, as well as the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics, and spare parts to the ISS.
The Atlantis collage features the space flown US flag and crew mission patch with images from this last Atlantis mission. The collage was presented to the Saint Louis Science Center from NASA and the crew of Atlantis STS-135, but is also signed by Dr. Sandra Magnus, Atlantis crew member and Mission Specialist.
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