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Space Shuttle AtlantisShuttle Orbiter ''Atlantis'' (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is one of five NASA space shuttles. It was the fourth shuttle built and as of 2003 is one of the three shuttles remaining in the fleet. Atlantis was named in honor of the first United States oceanographic research vessel, a two-masted sailing ship operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966. As the fourth shuttle, Atlantis benefited from experience gained in the construction of its predecessors. On roll-out it weighed nearly 7,000 lb (3 t) less than the first operational shuttle, Columbia, and required about half the time to be built. Structural spare parts also built along with Atlantis were used in the later construction of the fifth shuttle, Endeavour. Atlantis made its first flight in October 1985, conducting classified military activities, one of five such flights. In 1989 Atlantis deployed two planetary probes, Magellan and Galileo, and in 1991 it deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Beginning in 1995, Atlantis made seven straight flights to the Russian space station Mir. On the second Mir flight it delivered a docking module and on the subsequent flights it conducted astronaut exchanges. From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis underwent refitting operations, with about 165 modifications made to the shuttle. It has made six flights since then, all involving assembly activities at the International Space Station. In its most recent flight, in October 2002, Atlantis and its six-person crew completed an 11-day mission to the International Space Station that involved three space walks. Flights Space Shuttle Atlantis has flown 26 flights, spent 220.40-days in space, completed 3,468 orbits, and flown 89,908,732 miles in total, as of February 2003. Related articles External links
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