After numerous scrapped attempts due to inclement weather, Atlantis experienced a near-perfect space shuttle landing on Sunday morning.
During the voyage, the Atlantis crew likely made their final spacewalk ever from a shuttle airlock. The shuttle itself also probably flew its final mission to a location other than the International Space Station.
“It was a thrill from start to finish,” Commander Scott Altman said after touching down. “We’ve had a great ride.”
There are only 8 flights left before a planned shutdown of the shuttle program in 2010. Atlantis’ only remaining task is to finish construction of the football-field-sized station.
Some members of Congress have been pushing President Obama to extend the shuttle program a little.
They feel that the next generation of space flight vehicles may not be ready until 2015.
View the space shuttle landing below, as well as some amateur footage of the double sonic boom given off by Atlantis as it returned to Earth…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwMzEavKdKw
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