NASA Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Space Shuttle Program with Sandra Magnus as 1 of 4 Astronauts on the Mission

Urian B., Tech Times 09 July 2021, 12:07 am

NASA celebrates the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program 10 years ago from NASA Kennedy to the Space Station. Sandra Magnus was one of the four NASA Astronauts that was selected for the mission.

NASA 'Vision for Space Exploration'

Women@NASA shared a tweet in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The tweet also included an article by NASA detailing the faithful mission that took place 10 years ago.

According to NASA, in 2004, the Vision for Space Exploration was started and it called for the retirement of the space shuttle after finally finishing assembling the ISS or International Space Station. In July 2011, NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley, Christopher Ferguson, Rex Walheim, and Sandra Magnus were on the STS-135 mission to complete the objective.

NASA Mission STS-135

The last flight on the orbiter Atlantis delivered supplies and payloads to support the ISS for over a year. This became a successful 12-day mission to end the 30-year space shuttle program. The main objective was to transfer supplies.

Less than two days after the launch, Ferguson guided the Atlantis to dock on the station at the Pressurized Mating Adapter-2. A ceremony was then held. Hurley and Magnus then used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to help grapple the MPLM or Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module in the shuttle's cargo bay.

Over 11,600 Pounds Transfered

The crew transferred 9,400 pounds of equipment, spare parts, food, and other supplies along with 2,200 pounds of cargo to last the crew over a year. On the 5th day of the mission Expedition 28 astronauts Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan stepped outside the station's Quest airlock to take a 6-hour, 31-minute spacewalk to retrieve a failed ammonia pump module from the station's own cooling system and transfer it towards the shuttle's cargo bay.

On day 12 of the mission, all of the transfers were complete and Magnus and Hurley used the Canadarm2 in order to return the MPLM to the shuttle's own payload bay along with 5,700 pounds of cargo for Earth. On July 19, 2011, Hurley then had the shuttle undock from the station, perform a fly-away, then head back to Earth.

Learn More About Sandra Magnus

On July 21, 2011, the shuttle finally fired its orbital maneuvering engines and began descent back to Earth. Ferguson then brought the Atlantis smoothly on to the KSC which ended the 12-day 18-hour and 28-minute mission, the STS-135. This also closed out a 30-year space shuttle program as well.

An interview with Sandra Magnus saw her share three different missions in which she participated throughout her 16-years of involvement (when the video was recorded). The video on YouTube also saw Magnus share the early stages of her life when she initially just dreamt of becoming an astronaut until she finally did become an astronaut.