Col. Doug Hurley

Follow in the footsteps of shuttle astronauts when you take the Explore Tour. bit.ly/4528oWF Walk across the same orbiter access arm as the STS-135 astronauts before they launched on space shuttle Atlantis. 📸: NASA/Jim Grossmann

@GeraldJr1997 @ThePrimalDino We practiced those a lot during ascent sims. They were abort modes that we certainly could have flown had we needed to. Fortunately, they were never flown for real during the Program.

@Astro_Doug @ThePrimalDino The last shuttle riders! I have a question about the abort modes like rtls and tal and etc did you ever train for these modes? Or where at the time of launch out of question because of safety?

Got the band back together for the STS-135 15th Anniversary events at the KSC Visitors Center last weekend. Great reuniting with friends, colleagues, and so many people from across the US and all over the world that came to celebrate. Always special to see Atlantis again.

#OTD 15 Years Ago: Atlantis launched on the final shuttle mission, STS-135. Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim embarked on a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. 📸: NASA

15 years ago today, Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on STS-135, her final mission and the very last flight of the 30-year Space Shuttle era. Sit back, crank the volume, and soak in every angle of this epic NASA JSC (SE&I department) vid.

The 135th and final shuttle launch! 🚀 July 8 marks the 15th anniversary of the historic final launch of NASA's 30-year Space Shuttle Program. With its crew of 4 astronauts, Atlantis lifted off at 11:29 am to begin STS-135, its last journey to the International Space Station.

🚀#OTD 7/8/2011: #SpaceShuttle #Atlantis launched to the @Space_Station on #STS135, the final mission of @NASA's Space Shuttle Program nasa.gov/missions/space… @Astro_Ferg @Astro_Doug @Astro_Rex @Astro_Sandy #space #launch #ISS

#OTD 15 years ago ✨ STS-135 launched on July 8, 2011, with ASE members @Astro_Sandy, @Astro_Rex, @Astro_Doug, and @Astro_Ferg aboard. Fun fact: The crew appeared on an episode of The Colbert Report after returning home!

Artemis II flew on April 1 powered by our boosters. That same day, Artemis III booster segments started their journey from our Utah facility to @NASAKennedy. We’re already building the next chapter of space exploration – no pause, just progress.

United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket is on the launch pad for the USSF-87 mission that will place U.S. national security spacecraft into geosynchronous orbit. It will be our next-generation rocket's heaviest payload yet and the longest flight to date, lasting 10 hours. Liftoff is scheduled for Thursday at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 UTC) from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral. Weather forecasters give a 95% chance of GO conditions. Our play-by-play status journal begins at 10 p.m. EST (0300 UTC) and the live webcast starts 20 minutes before liftoff. bit.ly/vulcan_ussf87

Every January, @NASA commemorates the lives we have lost, including crews of Apollo 1 and the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. #NASARemembers their sacrifice and enduring strength of their families, whose courage continues to inspire us all. As we continue missions to the @Space_Station and push forward to the Moon and beyond, the agency is committed to safety and lessons learned to further space exploration and discovery.

Today is our Day of Remembrance. As we push forward to the Moon with our Artemis missions, it is vital that we stay vigilant and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of science and discovery.

From rollout to liftoff, propulsion matters. Artemis II is one step closer to exploring deep space and our technology is built into the mission from the ground up.

"Some people live their life... they worry about the destination. They worry about where they're going. I enjoy the trip. Wherever you're going is where you'll end up. Don't worry about that. Enjoy the scenery on the way."

A defining moment of American exploration. The @America250 emblem is displayed on the twin solid rocket boosters of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis II mission around the Moon. Launch is scheduled for early next year.

We build the world’s largest single-cast solid rocket boosters ever flown. Four of our GEM 63XL #SRBs propelled @ULALaunch’s #VulcanRocket into orbit, delivering a @SpaceForceDoD payload!🚀 news.northropgrumman.com/launch/Northro…

Pristine clear skies over Salt Lake City and Provo captured live from @sen's 4K camera payload on the @Space_Station at 8:42 AM MDT this morning. @SLCgov @provocity @NWSSaltLakeCity @tvheidihatch @kslnewsradio @KUTV2News @abc4utah @fox13 @bobbynovakfox13 Aug 12, 2025

On this day in 2011, Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center, completing STS-135, the final mission of the Space Shuttle program.

The 135th and final space shuttle mission launched #OTD in 2011. Atlantis transported 11,600 pounds of supplies and equipment to the International @Space_Station. At mission's end, STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson said, “We sure hope that everybody who has ever worked on, or touched, or looked at, or envied or admired a space shuttle was able to take just a little part of the journey with us.” 🚀 go.nasa.gov/4eCGkNz

#OTD in 2011, Shuttle Atlantis launched STS-135, the final mission of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. The crew delivered 8,000+ lbs of supplies to the ISS aboard the Raffaello module. Crew: Commander @Astro_Ferg Pilot @Astro_Doug Mission Specialists @Astro_Sandy & @Astro_Rex