What's in the photo? The space shuttle Atlantis, preparing to dock with the International Space Station (ISS)
When was it taken? July 10, 2011
NASA's Space Shuttle Program included five plane-like spacecraft — Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour — which collectively completed 135 missions between 1981 and 2011, racking up more than 32,000 hours in space. During that time, they helped to construct the ISS and, later, ferry astronauts to and from the station. The space shuttles also helped to deploy and maintain several other important spacecraft, including the Hubble Space Telescope.
This photo shows Atlantis approaching the ISS for the last time as it passed over the distinctive turquoise waters of the Bahamas. The space shuttle's bay doors are open, exposing its cargo area. This was standard procedure for all space shuttles once they reached low Earth orbit because it prevented the spacecraft's radiators from overheating.
Atlantis' final flight began on July 8, 2011, when it launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida vertically strapped to a massive fuel tank and a pair of rocket boosters. It returned to Earth on July 21, gliding down to land onto a runway at the launch site. (The spacecraft is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.)
Astronaut photos of the space shuttles were popular because they offered "punctuated snapshots of distinct places on Earth" that were "framed by a human eye," NASA representatives wrote in 2011. "These images speak to people."
Atlantis touched down at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011, brining the 30-year Space Shuttle program to an end. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)NASA eventually canceled the program in 2011, citing the high cost of maintaining the aging spacecraft and a reduced need for the vehicles after the completion of the ISS the same year. To this day, the space shuttles remain the only winged spacecraft to carry humans into space.
See more Earth from space
A 2020 satellite photo shows off the ethereal beauty of submerged sandbanks and seagrass beds in the Great Bahama Bank.
A 2026 satellite photo captured a gleaming halo of phytoplankton encircling the remote Chatham Islands and a hidden underwater plateau.
A 2026 satellite photo captured a stunning scene of sediment swirling across the West Florida Shelf after an extreme cold snap.
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