STS-133

Space Shuttle Discovery's final flight

STS-133 launch delayed by weather

Space Shuttle Discovery on the launch pad at night

Discovery Lifts Off!

Space Shuttle Discovery approaches the International Space Station

STS-133 and Expedition 26 crew members

STS-133 completes first spacewalk

Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew work outside the International Space Station during the first STS-133 spacewalk

Mission Specialist Steve Bowen

Discovery Astronauts Wrap Up Mission's Second Spacewalk

Steve Bowen anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint

Crewmates Coleman and Stott

Expedition 26 and STS-133 crew members

Space Shuttle Discovery performs its flyaround of the International Space Station as both spacecraft orbit over the Sahara Desert

Space Shuttle Discovery lands safely

STS-133 crew safely home

Image credits: NASA / NASA TV

STS-134

1st June 2011 - Endeavour makes its final landing

Shuttle and crew had a very successful 16 day mission. The high-light being the delivery and installation of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer which is already producing data.

Some quite spectacular numbers for Endeavour include 25 flights, 299 days in space, 4,671 orbits and 122,883,151 miles traveled.

At the Orbiter Processing Facility-1 technicians have begun Endeavour's retirement processing by draining the residual cryogenic fuel from the power reaction control distribution system.

Endeavour Rolls to Launch Pad for April Launch

Techs Resume Processing Endeavour at the Pad

Techs to perform payload and spacecraft inspections

STS-134 crew

STS-134 crew Q and A

Endeavour crew

STS-134 Mission Specialists Michael Fincke (right) and Greg Chamitoff use virtual reality hardware in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center to rehearse some of their duties on the upcoming mission

STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly attired in a training version of his shuttle launch and entry suit, occupies the commander's station during a training session on the flight deck of the Full Fuselage Trainer in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center

3 days to launch

STS-134 Mission Specialist Michael Fincke participates in a spacewalking training session in the Partial Gravity Simulator test area in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston

STS-134 crew arrives

The crew arrived at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) in T-38 jets

Mark Kelly and Greg Johnson are ready to take off and perform touch-and-go landings aboard a Shuttle Training Aircraft on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida

The STS-134 crew stands together on Launch Pad 39A in front of the towering external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters of space shuttle Endeavour

At Launch Pad 39A, a technician makes his way across a platform in Endeavour's aft section as work begins to remove and replace the aft load control assembly-2 (ALCA-2)

At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, a technician inside space shuttle Endeavour's aft section is testing the Load Control Assembly-2 (LCA-2) for replacement

The access door is open on Endeavour for technicians to enter the aft area where the Load Control Assembly-2 (LCA-2) is located

The Endeavour crew at the pad on Friday 6th May

Endeavour back at the pad

Endeavour crew back at Kennedy to prepare for Mondays launch

Endeavour prepared for todays launch

Space Shuttle Endeavour at Launch Pad 39A as it awaits liftoff

STS-134 Endeavour Launch Control

The STS-134 crew stride out of Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building

Space Shuttle Endeavour at Launch Pad 39A as it awaits liftoff

Endeavour lifts off!

Endeavour's backflip

Mark Kelly backs Endeavour on to the Harmony node of the ISS

Commander Mark Kelly and the STS-134 crew are welcomed aboard the International Space Station by the Expedition 27 crew

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2

A view of the ISS from an aft flight deck window of space shuttle Endeavour during rendezvous and docking operations

Endeavour's final spacewalk

The earth whizzing by below Endeavour and a starry night sky viewed from the ISS

Endeavour makes its final landing

Image credits: NASA / NASA TV / Bill Ingalls

STS-135

21st July 2011 - Atlantis lands safely bringing the 30 year shuttle programme to a close

The 13-day mission racked up some impressive numbers, 9400 pounds of spare parts including 2677 pounds of food, completed 200 orbits and traveled 5,284,862 miles. These supplies will keep the space station going for the next year. And that's not all, they brought back nearly 5700 pounds of unneeded materials from the station.

"Although we got to take the ride," said Commander Chris Ferguson on behalf of his crew, "we sure hope that everybody who has ever worked on, or touched, or looked at, or envied or admired a space shuttle was able to take just a little part of the journey with us."

Director Michael Bay and his production team all but moved in to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a week in October 2010. There were casting calls, costuming and catering tents, and of course a flotilla of high-performance cars and trucks.

STS-135 crew

Space Shuttle Atlantis at dawn

Atlantis' payload arrives at the pad

Atlantis lifts off!

Commander Chris Ferguson is pictured at the commander's station on the flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis during the mission's initial day of activities in Earth orbit

A closeup of Atlantis' main engines

The shuttle 'posed' for photographs and visual surveys and performed a back-flip for the rendezvous pitch manoeuvre

A stunning shot of the docking mechanism

Space shuttle Atlantis is seen over the Bahamas

At the rear of the cargo bay is the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module

Welcome Aboard!

Spacewalker Mike Fossum rides on the International Space Station's robotic arm as he carries the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment

International Space Station with Space Shuttle Atlantis docked on the right and a Russian Soyuz on the far left. In the foreground is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS)

With his feet secured on a restraint on the space station remote manipulator system's robotic arm or Canadarm2, NASA astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer, carries the pump module, which was the focus of one of the primary chores accomplished on a six and a half hour spacewalk

In this view of the International Space Station's Cupola, a variety of modules and components of the station showcase the contributions of the many nations making up some of the international partnerships behind the space station

Southern Lights or Aurora Australis

The panoramic view provided by the multi-windowed Cupola on flight day 9 of the STS-135 mission

Space shuttle Atlantis and its Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module on the final day of docked operations

Atlantis and ISS separate for the final time

This unprecedented view of the space shuttle Atlantis, appearing like a bean sprout against clouds and city lights, on its way home, was photographed by the Expedition 28 crew of the International Space Station. Airglow over Earth can be seen in the background

Space shuttle Atlantis lands for the final time

Workers at Kennedy Space Center accompany Atlantis as it is towed back to its processing hangar

Image credits: NASA / NASA TV / Bill Ingalls / Dimitri Gerondidakis / Fletcher Hildreth - The Shuttle Programme