Top Stories
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 Delta 2 rocket launch - A Delta 2 rocket lifts off with an international oceanography satellite.
ESA's lifting body - Europe's re-entry demonstrator should be approved soon for blastoff in late 2013.
Crew arrives at ISS - Next space station crew docks to orbiting complex in Soyuz capsule.
Voyager finds bubbles - The Voyager spacecraft has discovered signs of giant magnetic bubbles at the solar system's outer edge.
Rosetta goes to sleep - ESA's Rosetta comet-chasing spacecraft goes into hibernation.
Shuttle photo op - Spectacular photos of shuttle Endeavour docked to the space station.
Sea Launch update - Two missions are planned this year by Sea Launch from the Pacific Ocean and Kazakhstan.
Fresh crew launched - Reinforcements for the space station crew blast off on a Soyuz rocket.
Picking a destination - NASA will decide this summer where its next Mars rover will land.
Spirit's last images - A collection of the final photos returned from NASA's Spirit rover on Mars.
Atlantis on deck - Beautiful photos of shuttle Atlantis at sunrise on the launch pad.
Endeavour home - Concluding a 16-day mission, Endeavour returns to Earth for the final time.
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Space shuttle Atlantis journeys to the
launch pad for perhaps final time
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 22, 2010
Facing what could be the final voyage in its quarter-century of spaceflight, the shuttle Atlantis emerged from Kennedy Space Center's assembly building Wednesday night bathed in spotlights and a crowd of workers proudly watching the spaceship head toward the launch pad.
Under the current plans, Atlantis will become the first shuttle orbiter retired as the program winds down. Liftoff is scheduled for May 14 to deliver Russia's Mini Research Module 1 and an American cargo-carrying pallet to the International Space Station.
Astronaut Ken Ham will command the 12-day flight along with pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists Garrett Reisman, Mike Good, Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers.
Credit: Spaceflight Now photos by Justin Ray
Credit: Spaceflight Now photos by Justin Ray
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