Timelapse video: The final space shuttle assembled for flight

Atlantis blasted off on May 11, 2009 for the final space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, a dramatic flight that prepared the iconic observatory for a new revolution of discovery

A cargo-delivery module packed with 9,400 pounds of food, equipment and science gear departed shuttle Atlantis’ payload bay on July 11, 2011 and parked at the International Space Station’s doorway for unloading.

On the 30th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, crew families, friends and space workers gathered Thursday to remember the 17 men and women who lost their lives on the high frontier, 14 in two space shuttle disasters and three in an Apollo-era launch pad fire 49 years ago Wednesday.