STS-135 crew module camera: astronauts rocket off the launch pad

Relive the final space shuttle mission with this slow-motion film footage of Atlantis’ launch from the Kennedy Space Center on July 7, 2011. (Membership Required)

A series of unprecedented back-to-back test-firings of a rocket engine originally developed for NASA’s space shuttle concluded earlier this month, giving engineers data crucial to achieving rapid 24-hour turnarounds planned for a U.S. military-funded reusable winged booster under construction at Boeing, government and industry officials said.

Shuttle Endeavour launched for the 25th and final time on this date in 2011.