Space Shuttle STS-135 Approaching Final De-orbit Thursday

The final Atlantis space shuttle mission approaches it's close this week as it finishes up it's final missions before reentering earth's atmosphere on July 21. This is scheduled for 5:56am EDT at Kennedy Space Center. The space shuttle is a unique aircraft designed to land on earth by itself on a runway, the only spacecraft of it's kind for the NASA program. One might ask, "How do you practice landing the Shuttle?"

A modified Gulfstream II business jet called the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) is where this happens. The altitude these astronaut pilots climb to is about 28,000 feet and tip down the nose 18 to 21 degrees towards the earth at 330mph. This is 7 times steeper than a passenger airliner approach. You can read further information on landing like the shuttle in the STA here.

The commander responsible for the crew's safe return is Christopher Ferguson. This will conclude his 3rd spaceflight. He is the commander of a four person crew including himself. According to the NASA website, this is the smallest crew that has flown to the International Space Station. The last mission manned by a four person crew was on STS-6 in April 1983. The need for using only a four person crew was necessary to maximize the total payload brought to the International Space Station.

The crew's final mission timeline for July 21 includes deorbit preparations and payload bay door closing. This will conclude flight day 14 in space orbit. These preparations will allow them to begin the deorbit burn and landing at the Kennedy Space Center and end the 30 year old Space Shuttle Program for NASA. A tribute to the Shuttle Program will be hosted by Lady Liberty. The Statue of Liberty in New York will celebrate the Space Shuttle Program by lighting the astronauts home during their descent down to earth. It will be lit with the colors red, white, and blue, and will be displayed on July 21.

As far as life after the Space Shuttle is concerned, a recent article explains that as of now, NASA will have no U.S spacecraft to replace the Space Shuttle. A $763 million contract with Russia will provide the rocket rides from 2014 to 2016. The article then offers hope to U.S. human spaceflight by explaining that hopefully by then, NASA will have approved one of the four private companies for a crew-ready spaceship. The four companies currently developing new prototype rockets include, Space Exploration Technologies started by PayPal founder, Elon Musk, Blue Origin, Boeing Company, and Sierra Nevada Corporation. Testing has already been conducted and hopefully continue NASA's legacy of human space flight for the future to come.