Last Space Shuttle Launch, 2011: Archived Pages
Front pages cover the emotional liftoff of Atlantis, bringing an end to 30 years of triumphs and tragedies for the U.S. space shuttle program.
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- Journalism
On July 8, 2011, Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida — NASA's 135th and final shuttle launch. Between the first launch on April 12, 1981, and Atlantis' landing on July 21, NASA's fleet of five reusable space shuttles — Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour — carried crews that launched and repaired satellites, conducted research, and built and resupplied the International Space Station.
According to NASA, the final mission was Atlantis' 33rd flight and the 37th shuttle mission to the orbiting station. The spacecraft and crew of four delivered "the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module filled with supplies and spare parts to sustain space station operations" after the retirement of the shuttles.
Many papers also put the death of former first lady Betty Ford on their front page.
July 9, 2011
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