Atlantis made the perfect landing as dawn broke this morning, gliding down on to the tarmac at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, to bring to an end 30 years of shuttle missions.
It was the 135th mission for the fleet, which has covered an astonishing 542million miles and circled Earth 21,150 times.
Considering this accomplishment, none of the record 2,000 gathered by the landing strip to witness the historic spectacle was complaining that Atlantis was precisely one minute late.
The five shuttles have carried 355 people from 16 countries - and here were the last four astronauts safely home to cheers and tears.
As Commander Christopher Ferguson eased Atlantis on to the runway, he radioed: 'Mission complete, Houston'.
'Job well done, America,' replied Mission Control
It was the 135th mission for the fleet, which has covered an astonishing 542million miles and circled Earth 21,150 times.
Considering this accomplishment, none of the record 2,000 gathered by the landing strip to witness the historic spectacle was complaining that Atlantis was precisely one minute late.
The five shuttles have carried 355 people from 16 countries - and here were the last four astronauts safely home to cheers and tears.
As Commander Christopher Ferguson eased Atlantis on to the runway, he radioed: 'Mission complete, Houston'.
'Job well done, America,' replied Mission Control
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