“Landing,” said Allard Beutel, a NASA spokesman, “really was a heck of a last day for them. Nearly all of the 1,643 workers losing their jobs in Florida will be out the door on Friday, a company spokesman said. It will lay off 46 percent of its 5,200 workers in the coming weeks. Hardest hit is United Space Alliance, the company that handled the maintenance of the shuttles and prepared each one for flight. It is expected to drop soon to 8,200 before edging up to 10,000 in a few years as new NASA programs begin. space shuttle atlantis stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images In this handout from NASA, Astronauts John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur and Andrew Feustel, all STS-125 mission specialists, are pictured on the. As of Thursday, employment had fallen to 11,500. space shuttle atlantis and endeavour on the launch pads at kennedy space center in florida. Three years ago, 15,000 people worked at the Kennedy Space Center. Although no NASA government employees have been laid off, the jobs of NASA contractors working in the shuttle program were cut deeply as the program wound down. Kennedy Space Center (CNN) - Space shuttle Atlantis lifted off Friday morning on the final mission of America's 30-year shuttle program, a thunderously poignant moment that drew people from around. We have a lot of pride in that, and no one can take that away from us.”īut jobs will be taken away. “Over the past three or four years, we’ve been concentrating on completing the job we were given to do,” he said. Today Americans across the country watched with pride as four of our fellow citizens. See space shuttle Atlantis with her last launch director, Mike Leinbach, and learn about the. The Launch Director Tour of Space Shuttle Atlantis with Mike Leinbach gets you up close to this incredible period in NASA’s history. Leinbach said, that even as the program was shutting down, they had maintained their high standards. Statement on the Launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. NASA’s Space Shuttle Program is rich with 30 years of innovative technology and advances in space exploration. There was pride among the shuttle workers, Mr. It will be mounted nearby at the space center’s visitor center. Seeking to rekindle Americas love for space and the technology that enables it, the Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction opened at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA will now begin the work of transforming the Atlantis into a museum piece. With the retirement of the shuttles, NASA will no longer be able to return large pieces of equipment back to Earth. It made a wide turn to line up with the runway, concluding the 5,284,862-mile trip.ĭuring its 13-day mission, the Atlantis ferried 8,000 pounds of supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station and brought back some pieces, including a failed pump from the space station’s cooling system, which engineers want to examine more closely. In the clear, windless predawn, twin sonic booms announced the impending arrival as the Atlantis slowed to less than the speed of sound. “Huh? O.K.,” Captain Ferguson said in surprise. But he added a correction: “You’re just passing the west coast of Florida.”

Wilmore, an astronaut at mission control in Houston.

“You’re looking good to us, Atlantis,” responded Barry E.

Space shuttle atlantis