Last space shuttle launch set for July 8

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NASA aims for July 8 launch of last-ever shuttle flight(AFP) – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON — NASA said Friday it is aiming to launch the space shuttle Atlantis on July 8 for the last-ever flight of the 30-year-old American shuttle program.

The 12-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will be staffed by a smaller than usual crew of four American astronauts, the US space agency said.

"NASA's final space shuttle flight is targeted to launch July 8 at about 11:40 am (1540 GMT) from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida," a statement said.

"Four veteran astronauts will fly aboard shuttle Atlantis to deliver supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station."

An official decision on the launch date and time will be announced following a flight readiness review meeting on June 28, NASA said.

Atlantis was initially set to launch in late June but was postponed after technical woes delayed the Endeavour mission. The shuttle Endeavour launched Monday and is currently docked at the ISS.

The three-decade US shuttle program will end after Atlantis's mission, leaving Russia's space capsules as the sole taxi to the ISS until private companies can come up with a new spacecraft, possibly by 2015.

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First launched in March 1979. 135 launches in all. 1289 days total flight time for all missions. Two crashes. 14 deaths.

All in all, a pretty spectacular engineering feat.

 
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I think this is sad. To me the space program kind of defines the American Dream that if you have the want to and the drive you can do anything. It only took us 9 years from the start to get to the moon. Where would we be now if that pace could have been kept up through the decades?

 
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