Shuttle Atlantis 'Rollover' Spied by Orbiting Satellite : Big Pic
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Credit: DigitalGlobe
May 18, 2011 -- Although Space Shuttle Endeavour had only just blasted off, shuttle Atlantis was undergoing preparations for its final voyage (STS-135) this summer. To make the event even more poignant, the Atlantis launch will be the beginning of the final mission for NASA's 30-year-old Shuttle Program.
ANALYSIS: Countdown to Shuttle Launch -- and Layoffs -- Under Way
In this striking image -- an image that will likely become one of the (many) landmark photographs of the final months of the shuttle fleet -- an orbiting satellite snapped Atlantis during its short "rollover" from the Orbiter Processing Facility-1 to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center, Fla, on Tuesday. The towering VAB (center) dwarfs the shuttle (to the right of the VAB).
The shuttle is now undergoing preparations inside the VAB to be attached to the bulbous external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters that will power Atlantis to the International Space Station.
PHOTOS: For Space Shuttle Atlantis, The End Is Here
Scheduled to launch in early July, STS-135 will be the 33rd flight for Atlantis. The mission will carry four astronauts and deliver supplies to the station. It will also return a failed ammonia pump module.
-- by Ian O'Neill
Credits: Satellite image (above): DigitalGlobe. For a high-resolution version, browse the DigitalGlobe Flickr account. Used with permission. Shuttle rollover to the VAB (below): NASA.
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