space shuttle news stories on Newser

Enterprise Flies Over NYC

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:58:05 CDT

An unusual flying object has landed at New York's JFK Airport: the space shuttle Enterprise. Before arriving this morning, it zoomed around New York City's airspace, riding on top of a modified jumbo jet as part of NASA's process of wrapping up the shuttle program . Enterprise is eventually going to...

Newt's Lunar Ideas Not Lunacy

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:14:44 CDT

Jeffrey Goldberg is not what one might call a Newt Gingrich fan, but as he sat on the tarmac at Reagan National Airport gazing at the space shuttle Discovery as it prepared for its final flight, he realized something: "On the matter of space exploration … Newt Gingrich is exactly...

Discovery Ends Final Ride

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:00:00 CDT

Space shuttle Discovery landed today at Washington Dulles International Airport, where its wheels will stop for the last time at the Smithsonian. The world's most traveled spaceship landed after taking off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and soaring around the Washington Monument and White House in a salute to the nation's...

Atlantis Makes Final Landing

Rob Quinn — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 07:59:33 CDT

The very last space shuttle landing was as smooth as they come. NASA's 30-year space shuttle program came to end just before sunrise as Atlantis landed safely in Florida, the AP reports. The shuttle, which performed perfectly during its final mission to resupply the International Space Station, is home for...

Post-Shuttle Era NASA: Now What?

Polly Davis Doig — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:45:05 CDT

Atlantis' wheels will hit Earth early Thursday, closing out NASA's epic 30-year space shuttle program for good. But when the dust clears, the space agency has no clear replacement program on the horizon to lead America's return to space, notes the LA Times . Rather, the trailblazing agency is shuffling its...

'Godspeed:' Atlantis Leaves ISS a Final Time

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:59:54 CDT

Atlantis left the International Space Station for the very last time today, heading home to end the 30-year run of a vessel that kept Americans flying to and from orbit longer than any other rocketship. The space shuttle slipped away after performing a partial lap around the space station. Ten...

Atlantis Docks a Final Time

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:04:54 CDT

Atlantis has docked with the International Space Station, yet another final milestone as NASA winds down its storied shuttle program with what the AP is perhaps excessively referring to as "a flight full of passion." "Atlantis arriving," called space station astronaut Ronald Garan Jr. as the station's naval bell chimed....

Strangest Passengers in NASA History

Tim Karan — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:06:56 CDT

You can probably name the first American sent into space (Alan Shepard), but the first monkey, frog, and jellyfish made the trip with far less fanfare. Space Shuttle Atlantis took off yesterday with a few odd passengers: an iPhone and a mutant strain of salmonella. But they're not the only...

Atlantis Blasts Off on Final Shuttle Flight

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:43:49 CDT

Atlantis blasted off this morning on the last flight of NASA's space shuttle program. The historic liftoff occurred 30 years and three months after the very first shuttle flight. Four astronauts are riding Atlantis to orbit, bound for the International Space Station. Massive crowds jammed Cape Canaveral and surrounding towns...