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Now that Atlantis has safely returned to Earth and the 30-year space shuttle program has drawn to a close, it's time to look back at the reign of Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour and the tragically shortened careers of Challenger and Columbia . Since 1981 NASA has launched 135 shuttle missions, reaching destinations such as the Mir space station, the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. [More]

NASA's 30-year space shuttle program drew to an end this morning when the Atlantis orbiter touched down safely at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

HOUSTON -- NASA's last space shuttle ever to visit the International Space Station cast off from the orbiting lab early Tuesday (July 19) to begin one final trip back to Earth. Atlantis launched July 8 on the 135th and last voyage of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program

Hubble is amazing, but its replacement, the James Webb, is having problems. That makes a scientific telescope ride aboard a commercial space plane all the more compelling an idea.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER-- Atlantis lifted off Friday at 11:29 A.M. Eastern time after a last-moment hold at 31 seconds on its 33rd and final mission--both for it and NASA's 30-year-old manned space shuttle program, putting on hiatus the era of human access to low Earth orbit on board U.S. spacecraft.

NASA's shuttle program, set to make its final flight later this week, has resulted in the death of 14 astronauts. But it could have been a lot worse.

On July 5, if all goes according to plan, the final countdown of the space shuttle program will begin. The launch clock at Kennedy Space Center, a giant digital display with 40-watt lightbulbs for pixels, will begin ticking down from 43 hours. When it reaches zero, Atlantis will rumble off the launch pad, and the final shuttle mission will begin