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Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) Fact Sheet
Written and Edited by Cliff Lethbridge
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Contract Awarded: January 29, 1979 Final Assembly Completed: April 10, 1984 Factory Rollout: March 6, 1985 Delivery to Kennedy Space Center: April 13, 1985 First Space Flight: October 3, 1985 (STS-51J) |
Atlantis was named in honor of a two-masted ketch that supported oceanographic research for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts between 1930 and 1966. Atlantis carried two on-board laboratories, and could accommodate a crew of 17 and five scientists.
Considered the first U.S. vessel dedicated purely to oceanographic research, Atlantis typically supported the examination of water samples as well as marine life brought to the surface from depths of thousands of feet by two large winches.
Atlantis also supported the first mapping of the ocean floor through the use of electronic sounding devices. The ship sailed more than 500,000 miles before being retired.
Atlantis milestones include the deployment of the Magellan spacecraft (STS-30), the deployment of the Galileo spacecraft (STS-34) and the first docking of a Space Shuttle to the Russian Mir Space Station (STS-71).
Copyright © 2001 by Spaceline, Inc.
