Space shuttle Atlantis is one of three remaining orbiters in NASA’s fleet. It has completed over 30 missions, including trips to the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. The shuttle is named after a research vessel and was scheduled to end service in 2010. It takes off vertically and acts as a glider upon re-entry. During spaceflight, the shuttle expands due to different pressures. A stuck knob caused minimal damage and required artificial pressurization to remove.
Among the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, fleet of space orbiters, the space shuttle Atlantis is only one of three remaining orbiters still in use. Along with Space Shuttle Endeavor and Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle Atlantis is an aircraft capable of space travel and has made several trips to the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. He also made seven trips to the former Russian space station Mir.
Construction of space shuttle Atlantis began in 1980 after a contract was awarded to Rockwell International in 1979. It was completed in 1984 and was ready for launch in late 1985. Since its completion, space shuttle Atlantis has completed over 30 missions and has hosted nearly 200 crews and over 150 people have been on Atlantis flights. Shuttle Atlantis is named after the RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing vessel that acted as a research vessel between 1930 and 1966. Space shuttle Atlantis was scheduled to end service in May 2010.
Like other space shuttle orbiters in NASA’s fleet, space shuttle Atlantis takes off vertically from a launch pad. The space shuttle orbiter is attached to a payload of fuel and rockets, which propel the orbiter into space. The space shuttle re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere and acts as a glider, returning to the Earth’s surface for landing. While in space, the space shuttle is capable of many tasks necessary to keep NASA’s space program going; astronauts performed repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope, delivered cargo and equipment to the International Space Station, and deployed planetary probes from Atlantis during its tenure as an active space shuttle.
When Atlantis is on earth, it is pressurized to a different degree than space; during spaceflight, the Atlantis shuttle expands due to the different forces and pressures exerted on the ship. At some point in its flight history, a small knob got stuck between a window and the shuttle’s dashboard. When the shuttle landed, the knob was exposed, but because the shuttle had contracted when it reached land, the knob could not be removed. The shuttle had to be artificially pressurized so that the knob could be frozen and then removed, causing minimal damage to the shuttle structure. This prevented a long delay in the Atlantis flight schedule.
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