Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 Final Mission, Space Flight Awareness Memorabilia

Description

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) Final Mission, Space Flight Awareness Memorabilia
The 135th and final mission of the
Space Shuttle
program
Space Shuttle Mission STS-135 Crew Picture, STS-135 Mission Emblem Sticker, and NASA “Meatball” Sticker
All items are in Excellent condition, color, and graphics
Please see all attached pictures
Shipping includes a Tracking Number
It used the orbiter
Atlantis
and hardware originally processed for the
STS-335
contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 launched on 8 July 2011, and landed on 21 July 2011, following a one-day mission extension. The four-person crew was the smallest of any shuttle mission since
STS-6
in April 1983. The mission's primary cargo was the
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
(MPLM)
Raffaello
and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC), which were delivered to the
International Space Station
(ISS). The flight of Raffaello marked the only time that Atlantis carried an MPLM.
Although the mission was authorized, it initially had no appropriation in the
NASA
budget, raising questions about whether the mission would fly. On 20 January 2011, program managers changed STS-335 to STS-135 on the flight manifest. This allowed for training and other mission specific preparations. On 13 February 2011, program managers told their workforce that STS-135 would fly regardless of the funding situation via a continuing resolution. Until this point, there had been no official references to the STS-135 mission in NASA documentation for the general public.
During an address at the
Marshall Space Flight Center
on 16 November 2010, NASA administrator
Charles Bolden
said that the agency needed to fly STS-135 to the station in 2011 due to possible delays in the development of commercial rockets and spacecraft designed to transport cargo to the ISS. "We are hoping to fly a third shuttle mission (in addition to
STS-133
and
STS-134
) in June 2011, what everybody calls the launch-on-need mission... and that's really needed to [buy down] the risk for the development time for commercial cargo", Bolden said.
The mission was included in NASA's 2011 authorization, which was signed into law on 11 October 2010, but funding remained dependent on a subsequent appropriations bill.
United Space Alliance
signed a contract extension for the mission, along with STS-134; the contract contained six one-month options with NASA in order to support continuing operations.
CREW
Position
Astronaut
Commander
Christopher Ferguson
Third and last spaceflight
Pilot
Douglas Hurley
Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1
Sandra Magnus
Third and last spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2
Rex Walheim
Third and last spaceflight