Atlantis
Orbiter OV-104
See also
Space Transportation System and
space shuttle
This orbiter is currently active.
Entered service October 3, 1985.
Flights:
STS-51J 10/03/85
STS-61B 11/26/85
STS-27 12/02/88
STS-30 05/04/89
STS-34 10/18/89
STS-36 02/28/90
STS-38 11/15/90
STS-37 04/05/91
STS-43 08/02/91
STS-44 11/24/91
STS-45 03/24/92
STS-46 07/31/92
STS-66 11/03/94
STS-71 06/27/95
STS-74 11/12/95
STS-76 03/22/96
STS-79 09/16/96
STS-81 01/12/97
STS-84 05/15/97
STS-86 09/25/97
STS-101 05/19/00
STS-106 09/08/00
STS-98 02/07/01
STS-104 07/12/01
Atlantis was the fourth active
orbiter in the
fleet, and was intended to be the
last of the line. This was changed when
Challenger was destroyed, and
Endeavour was built to replace it.
Atlantis was able to make use of many of the same design improvements that aided
Discovery, including a reduction in weight of some 6,974
pounds, and nearly half the construction time of the original
orbiters.
During the construction of Atlantis and
Discovery,
spare replacement parts were commissioned, amounting to an estimated
$389 million. These included a spare aft-
fuselage, mid-
fuselage, forward
fuselage halves,
vertical tail and
rudder, wings,
elevons and body flap. These
spare parts were later used to build
Endeavour.
The rest of the orbiter fleet:
Enterprise *
Columbia *
Challenger *
Discovery *
Endeavour
ed note: In 2006, NASA anounced plans to retire Atlantis and use her for spare parts for Discovery and Endeavour.