title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: The song, a memory of a mother's words of encouragement ("My mama said 'you can't hurry love/No you just have to wait' ") telling her daughter that with patience she will find that special someone one day, is an example of the strong influence of gospel music present in much of R&B and soul music. "You Can't Hurry Love" was inspired by and partially based upon "(You Can't Hurry God) He's Right on Time" ("You can't hurry God/you just have to wait/Trust and give him time/no matter how long it takes"), a 1950s gospel song written by Dorothy Love Coates of the Original Gospel Harmonettes.


title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: The recorded version of "You Can't Hurry Love" showcases the developing sound of the Supremes, who were progressing from their earlier teen-pop into more mature themes and musical arrangements. This song and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" were finished together; when it came time to choose which single would be issued first, Motown's Quality Control department chose "You Can't Hurry Love."


title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, "You Can't Hurry Love" is one of the signature Supremes songs, and also one of Motown's signature releases. "Billboard" described the single as "the group's most exciting side to date" with "top vocal" and "exceptional instrumental backing." "Cash Box" said that it is a "pulsating pop-r&b rhythmic ode which contends that romance is a slow-developing game of give-and-take."


title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: The single became the Supremes' seventh number-one hit, topping the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from September 4, 1966 to September 17, 1966, and reaching number one on the soul chart for two weeks. The group performed the song on the CBS variety program "The Ed Sullivan Show" on Sunday, September 25, 1966.


title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: "You Can't Hurry Love" was the second single from the Supremes' album "The Supremes A' Go-Go". It reached the number one position on the "Billboard" Hot 100 pop chart in the United States, and number three in the United Kingdom. The Supremes' version of the song is honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's permanent collection of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.


title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: The most notable cover of the song was released in November 1982 as a single by Phil Collins from his second solo album, "Hello, I Must Be Going!" Collins's version reached number-one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1983 (becoming his first number-one solo hit in the UK Singles Chart, and peaking two positions higher than the original song did in that country), and reached number 10 in the United States (his first top 10 single in the U.S.). The single was certified gold in the UK. The orchestral strings on this track were recorded in Studio 1 at CBS Recording Studios, London W1 by Recording Engineer Mike Ross-Trevor (assisted by Richard Hollywood) on the evening of Thursday, June 24, 1982. Collins' cover was both virtuoso, and at the same time, the most popular Collins performance effort to date, and thus considerably his breakthrough work as a solo artist.


title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: Collins said that "The idea of doing 'Can't Hurry Love' was to see if Hugh Padgham and I could duplicate that Sixties sound. It's very difficult today because most recording facilities are so much more sophisticated than they were back then. It's therefore hard to make the drums sound as rough as they did on the original. That's what we were going after, a remake, not an interpretation, but a remake.


title: You Can't Hurry Love

text: In 1983, the music video was released on the home video "Phil Collins" available on Video Home System (VHS) and LaserDisc (LD) which received a Grammy nomination for Best Video, Short Form. The video itself was also the first track featured on the first VHS compilation of "Now: That's What I Call Music".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: The DIKW pyramid, also known variously as the DIKW hierarchy, wisdom hierarchy, knowledge hierarchy, information hierarchy, information pyramid, and the data pyramid, refers loosely to a class of models for representing purported structural and/or functional relationships between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. "Typically information is defined in terms of data, knowledge in terms of information, and wisdom in terms of knowledge".The DIKW acronym has worked into the rotation from knowledge management. It demonstrates how the deep understanding of the subject emerges, passing through four qualitative stages: "D" – data, "I" – information, "K" – knowledge and "W" – wisdom


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Not all versions of the DIKW model reference all four components (earlier versions not including data, later versions omitting or downplaying wisdom), and some include additional components. In addition to a hierarchy and a pyramid, the DIKW model has also been characterized as a chain, as a framework, as a series of graphs, and as a continuum.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Danny P. Wallace, a professor of library and information science, explained that the origin of the DIKW pyramid is uncertain:


title: DIKW pyramid

text: The presentation of the relationships among data, information, knowledge, and sometimes wisdom in a hierarchical arrangement has been part of the language of information science for many years. Although it is uncertain when and by whom those relationships were first presented, the ubiquity of the notion of a hierarchy is embedded in the use of the acronym DIKW as a shorthand representation for the data-to-information-to-knowledge-to-wisdom transformation.Many authors think that the idea of the DIKW relationship originated from two lines in the poem "Choruses", by T. S. Eliot, that appears in the pageant play "The Rock", in 1934:


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In 1955, English-American economist and educator Kenneth Boulding presented a variation on the hierarchy consisting of "signals, messages, information, and knowledge". However, "[t]he first author to distinguish among data, information, and knowledge and to also employ the term 'knowledge management' may have been American educator Nicholas L. Henry", in a 1974 journal article.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Other early versions (prior to 1982) of the hierarchy that refer to a data tier include those of Chinese-American geographer Yi-Fu Tuan and sociologist-historian Daniel Bell.. In 1980, Irish-born engineer Mike Cooley invoked the same hierarchy in his critique of automation and computerization, in his book "Architect or Bee?: The Human / Technology Relationship".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Thereafter, in 1987, Czechoslovakia-born educator Milan Zeleny mapped the elements of the hierarchy to knowledge forms: "know-nothing", "know-what", "know-how", and "know-why". Zeleny "has frequently been credited with proposing the [representation of DIKW as a pyramid ]... although he actually made no reference to any such graphical model."


title: DIKW pyramid

text: The hierarchy appears again in a 1988 address to the International Society for General Systems Research, by American organizational theorist Russell Ackoff, published in 1989. Subsequent authors and textbooks cite Ackoff's as the "original articulation" of the hierarchy or otherwise credit Ackoff with its proposal. Ackoff's version of the model includes an "understanding" tier (as Adler had, before him), interposed between "knowledge" and "wisdom". Although Ackoff did not present the hierarchy graphically, he has also been credited with its representation as a pyramid.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In 1989, Bell Labs veteran Robert W. Lucky wrote about the four-tier "information hierarchy" in the form of a pyramid in his book Silicon Dreams.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In the same year as Ackoff presented his address, information scientist Anthony Debons and colleagues introduced an extended hierarchy, with "events", "symbols", and "rules and formulations" tiers ahead of data.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In 1994 Nathan Shedroff presented the DIKW hierarchy in an information design context which later appeared as a book chapter.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Jennifer Rowley noted in 2007 that there was "little reference to wisdom" in discussion of the DIKW in recently published college textbooks, and does not include wisdom in her own definitions following that research. Meanwhile, Zins' extensive analysis of the conceptualizations of data, information, and knowledge, in his 2007 research study, makes no explicit commentary on wisdom, although some of the citations included by Zins do make mention of the term.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: The DIKW model "is often quoted, or used implicitly, in definitions of data, information and knowledge in the information management, information systems and knowledge management literatures, but there has been limited direct discussion of the hierarchy". Reviews of textbooks and a survey of scholars in relevant fields indicate that there is not a consensus as to definitions used in the model, and even less "in the description of the processes that transform elements lower in the hierarchy into those above them".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: This has led Israeli researcher Chaim Zins to suggest that the data–information–knowledge components of DIKW refer to a class of no less than five models, as a function of whether data, information, and knowledge are each conceived of as "subjective", "objective" (what Zins terms, "universal" or "collective") or both. In Zins's usage, subjective and objective "are not related to arbitrariness and truthfulness, which are usually attached to the concepts of subjective knowledge and objective knowledge". Information science, Zins argues, studies data and information, but not knowledge, as knowledge is an internal (subjective) rather than an external (universal–collective) phenomenon.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In the context of DIKW, data is conceived of as symbols or signs, representing stimuli or signals, that are "of no use until ... in a usable (that is, relevant) form". Zeleny characterized this non-usable characteristic of data as "know-nothing".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In some cases, data is understood to refer not only to symbols, but also to signals or stimuli referred to by said symbols—what Zins terms "subjective data". Where "universal data", for Zins, are "the product of "observation"" (italics in original), subjective data are the observations. This distinction is often obscured in definitions of data in terms of "facts".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Rowley, following her study of DIKW definitions given in textbooks, characterizes data "as being discrete, objective facts or observations, which are unorganized and unprocessed and therefore have no meaning or value because of lack of context and interpretation." In Henry's early formulation of the hierarchy, data was simply defined as "merely raw facts", while two recent texts define data as "chunks of facts about the state of the world" and "material facts", respectively. Cleveland does not include an explicit data tier, but defines information as "the sum total of ... facts and ideas".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Insofar as facts have as a fundamental property that they are true, have objective reality, or otherwise can be verified, such definitions would preclude false, meaningless, and nonsensical data from the DIKW model, such that the principle of garbage in, garbage out would not be accounted for under DIKW.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In the subjective domain, data are conceived of as "sensory stimuli, which we perceive through our senses", or "signal readings", including "sensor and/or sensory readings of light, sound, smell, taste, and touch". Others have argued that what Zins calls subjective data actually count as a "signal" tier (as had Boulding), which precedes data in the DIKW chain.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: American information scientist Glynn Harmon defined data as "one or more kinds of energy waves or particles (light, heat, sound, force, electromagnetic) selected by a conscious organism or intelligent agent on the basis of a preexisting frame or inferential mechanism in the organism or agent."


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Information is the meaning of these sensory stimuli ("i.e.", the empirical perception). For example, the noises that I hear are data. "The meaning of these noises" ("e.g.", a running car engine) "is information". Still, there is another alternative as to how to define these two concepts—which seems even better. Data are sense stimuli, or their meaning ("i.e.", the empirical perception). Accordingly, in the example above, the loud noises, "as well as the perception of a running car engine", are data. (Italics added. Bold in original.)


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Subjective data, if understood in this way, would be comparable to knowledge by acquaintance, in that it is based on direct experience of stimuli. However, unlike knowledge by acquaintance, as described by Bertrand Russell and others, the subjective domain is "not related to ... truthfulness".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Whether Zins' alternate definition would hold would be a function of whether "the running of a car engine" is understood as an objective fact or as a contextual interpretation.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Whether the DIKW definition of data is deemed to include Zins's subjective data (with or without meaning), data is consistently defined to include "symbols", or "sets of signs that represent empirical stimuli or perceptions", of "a property of an object, an event or of their environment". Data, in this sense, are "recorded (captured or stored) symbols", including "words (text and/or verbal), numbers, diagrams, and images (still &/or video), which are the building blocks of communication", the purpose of which "is to record activities or situations, to attempt to capture the true picture or real event," such that "all data are historical, unless used for illustrative purposes, such as forecasting."


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Boulding's version of DIKW explicitly named the level below the information tier "message", distinguishing it from an underlying "signal" tier. Debons and colleagues reverse this relationship, identifying an explicit "symbol" tier as one of several levels underlying data.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Zins determined that, for most of those surveyed, "data" "are characterized as phenomena in the universal domain". "Apparently," clarifies Zins, "it is more useful to relate to the data, information, and knowledge as sets of signs rather than as meaning and its building blocks".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In the context of DIKW, information meets the definition for knowledge by description ("information is contained in "descriptions""), and is differentiated from data in that it is "useful". "Information is inferred from data", in the process of answering interrogative questions ("e.g.", "who", "what", "where", "how many", "when"), thereby making the data useful for "decisions and/or action". "Classically," states a 2007 text, "information is defined as data that are endowed with meaning and purpose."


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Rowley, following her review of how DIKW is presented in textbooks, describes information as "organized or structured data, which has been processed in such a way that the information now has relevance for a specific purpose or context, and is therefore meaningful, valuable, useful and relevant." Note that this definition contrasts with Rowley's characterization of Ackoff's definitions, wherein "[t]he difference between data and information is structural, not functional."


title: DIKW pyramid

text: In his formulation of the hierarchy, Henry defined information as "data that changes us", this being a functional, rather than structural, distinction between data and information. Meanwhile, Cleveland, who did not refer to a data level in his version of DIKW, described information as "the sum total of all the facts and ideas that are available to be known by somebody at a given moment in time".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Information may be conceived of in DIKW models as: (i) universal, existing as symbols and signs; (ii) subjective, the meaning to which symbols attach; or (iii) both. Examples of information as both symbol and meaning include:


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Zeleny formerly described information as "know-what", but has since refined this to differentiate between "what to have or to possess" (information) and "what to do, act or carry out" (wisdom). To this conceptualization of information, he also adds "why is", as distinct from "why do" (another aspect of wisdom). Zeleny further argues that there is no such thing as explicit knowledge, but rather that knowledge, once made explicit in symbolic form, becomes information.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: The knowledge component of DIKW is generally agreed to be an elusive concept which is difficult to define. The DIKW definition of knowledge differs from that used by epistemology. The DIKW view is that "knowledge is defined with reference to information." Definitions may refer to information having been processed, organized or structured in some way, or else as being applied or put into action.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Zins has suggested that knowledge, being subjective rather than universal, is not the subject of study in information science, and that it is often defined in propositional terms, while Zeleny has asserted that to capture knowledge in symbolic form is to make it into information, "i.e.", that "All knowledge is tacit".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: "One of the most frequently quoted definitions" of knowledge captures some of the various ways in which it has been defined by others:


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, expert insight and grounded intuition that provides an environment and framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organizations it often becomes embedded not only in documents and repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices and norms.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Mirroring the description of information as "organized or structured data", knowledge is sometimes described as:


title: DIKW pyramid

text: One of Boulding's definitions for knowledge had been "a mental structure" and Cleveland described knowledge as "the result of somebody applying the refiner's fire to [information], selecting and organizing what is useful to somebody". A 2007 text describes knowledge as "information connected in relationships".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Zeleny defines knowledge as "know-how" ("i.e.", procedural knowledge), and also "know-who" and "know-when", each gained through "practical experience". "Knowledge ... brings forth from the background of experience a coherent and self-consistent set of coordinated actions.". Further, implicitly holding information as descriptive, Zeleny declares that "Knowledge is action, not a description of action."


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Ackoff, likewise, described knowledge as the "application of data and information", which "answers 'how' questions", that is, "know-how".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Meanwhile, textbooks discussing DIKW have been found to describe knowledge variously in terms of experience, skill, expertise or capability:


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Knowledge is sometimes described as "belief structuring" and "internalization with reference to cognitive frameworks". One definition given by Boulding for knowledge was "the subjective 'perception of the world and one's place in it'", while Zeleny's said that knowledge "should refer to an observer's distinction of 'objects' (wholes, unities)".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Zins, likewise, found that knowledge is described in propositional terms, as justifiable beliefs (subjective domain, akin to tacit knowledge), and sometimes also as signs that represent such beliefs (universal/collective domain, akin to explicit knowledge). Zeleny has rejected the idea of explicit knowledge (as in Zins' universal knowledge), arguing that once made symbolic, knowledge becomes information. Boiko appears to echo this sentiment, in his claim that "knowledge and wisdom can be information".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Knowledge is a thought in the individual's mind, which is characterized by the individual's justifiable belief that it is true. It can be empirical and non-empirical, as in the case of logical and mathematical knowledge ("e.g.", "every triangle has three sides"), religious knowledge ("e.g.", "God exists"), philosophical knowledge ("e.g.", ""Cogito ergo sum""), and the like. Note that knowledge is the content of a thought in the individual's mind, which is characterized by the individual's justifiable belief that it is true, while "knowing" is a state of mind which is characterized by the three conditions: (1) the individual believe[s] that it is true, (2) S/he can justify it, and (3) It is true, or it [appears] to be true. (Italics added. Bold in original.)


title: DIKW pyramid

text: The distinction here between subjective knowledge and subjective information is that subjective knowledge is characterized by justifiable belief, where subjective information is a type of knowledge concerning the meaning of data.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Boiko implied that knowledge was both open to rational discourse and justification, when he defined knowledge as "a matter of dispute".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Although commonly included as a level in DIKW, "there is limited reference to wisdom" in discussions of the model. Boiko appears to have dismissed wisdom, characterizing it as "non-material".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Ackoff refers to understanding as an "appreciation of 'why'", and wisdom as "evaluated understanding", where "understanding" is posited as a discrete layer between knowledge and wisdom. Adler had previously also included an understanding tier, while other authors have depicted understanding as a dimension in relation to which DIKW is plotted.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Cleveland described wisdom simply as "integrated knowledge—information made super-useful". Other authors have characterized wisdom as "knowing the right things to do" and "the ability to make sound judgments and decisions apparently without thought".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Wisdom involves using knowledge for the greater good. Because of this, wisdom is deeper and more uniquely human. It requires a sense of good and bad, right and wrong, ethical and unethical.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Zeleny described wisdom as "know-why", but later refined his definitions, so as to differentiate "why do" (wisdom) from "why is" (information), and expanding his definition to include a form of know-what ("what to do, act or carry out"). According to Nikhil Sharma, Zeleny has argued for a tier to the model beyond wisdom, termed "enlightenment".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: DIKW is a hierarchical model often depicted as a pyramid, with "data" at its base and "wisdom" at its apex. In this regard it is similar to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, in that each level of the hierarchy is argued to be an essential precursor to the levels above. Unlike Maslow's hierarchy, which describes relationships of priority (lower levels are focused on first), DIKW describes purported structural or functional relationships (lower levels comprise the material of higher levels). Both Zeleny and Ackoff have been credited with originating the pyramid representation, although neither used a pyramid to present their ideas.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: DIKW has also been represented as a two-dimensional chart or as one or more flow diagrams. In such cases, the relationships between the elements may be presented as less hierarchical, with feedback loops and control relationships.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Throughout the years many adaptations of the DIKW pyramid have been produced. One evolving adaptation, in use by knowledge managers in the United States Department of Defense, attempts to show the progression transforming data to information then knowledge and finally wisdom to enable effective decisions, as well as the activities involved to ultimately create shared understanding throughout the organization and managing decision risk.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Intelligent decision support systems are trying to improve decision making by introducing new technologies and methods from the domain of modeling and simulation in general, and in particular from the domain of intelligent software agents in the contexts of agent-based modeling.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: The following example describes a military decision support system, but the architecture and underlying conceptual idea are transferable to other application domains:


title: DIKW pyramid

text: By the introduction of a common operational picture, data are put into context, which leads to information instead of data. The next step, which is enabled by service-oriented web-based infrastructures (but not yet operationally used), is the use of models and simulations for decision support. Simulation systems are the prototype for procedural knowledge, which is the basis for knowledge quality. Finally, using intelligent software agents to continually observe the battle sphere, apply models and simulations to analyse what is going on, to monitor the execution of a plan, and to do all the tasks necessary to make the decision maker aware of what is going on, command and control systems could even support situational awareness, the level in the value chain traditionally limited to pure cognitive methods.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Rafael Capurro, a philosopher based in Germany, argues that data is an abstraction, information refers to "the act of communicating meaning", and knowledge "is the event of meaning selection of a (psychic/social) system


title: DIKW pyramid

text: from its 'world' on the basis of communication". As such, any impression of a logical hierarchy between these concepts "is a fairytale".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: One objection offered by Zins is that, while knowledge may be an exclusively cognitive phenomenon, the difficulty in pointing to a given fact as being distinctively information or knowledge, but not both, makes the DIKW model unworkable.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Alternatively, information and knowledge might be seen as synonyms. In answer to these criticisms, Zins argues that, subjectivist and empiricist philosophy aside, "the three fundamental concepts of data, information, and knowledge and the relations among them, as they are perceived by leading scholars in the information science academic community", have meanings open to distinct definitions. Rowley echoes this point in arguing that, where definitions of knowledge may disagree, "[t]hese various perspectives all take as their point of departure the relationship between data, information and knowledge."


title: DIKW pyramid

text: American philosophers John Dewey and Arthur Bentley, in their 1949 book "Knowing and the Known", argued that "knowledge" was "a vague word", and presented a complex alternative to DIKW including some nineteen "terminological guide-posts".


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Information processing theory argues that the physical world is made of information itself. Under this definition, "data" is either made up of or synonymous with physical information. It is unclear, however, whether information as it is conceived in the DIKW model would be considered derivative from physical-information/data or synonymous with physical information. In the former case, the DIKW model is open to the fallacy of equivocation. In the latter, the data tier of the DIKW model is preempted by an assertion of neutral monism.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: Educator Martin Frické has published an article critiquing the DIKW hierarchy, in which he argues that the model is based on "dated and unsatisfactory philosophical positions of operationalism and inductivism", that information and knowledge are both weak knowledge, and that wisdom is the "possession and use of wide practical knowledge.


title: DIKW pyramid

text: David Weinberger argues that although the DIKW pyramid appears to be a logical and straight-forward progression, this is incorrect. "What looks like a logical progression is actually a desperate cry for help." He points out there is a discontinuity between Data and Information (which are stored in computers), versus Knowledge and Wisdom (which are human endeavours). This suggests that the DIKW pyramid is too simplistic in representing how these concepts interact. "...Knowledge is not determined by information, for it is the knowing process that first decides which information is relevant, and how it is to be used."


title: Aryabhata (satellite)

text: Aryabhata was India's first satellite, named after the famous Indian astronomer. It was launched on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar, a Soviet rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the ISRO, and launched by the Soviet Union as a part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme which provided access to space for friendly states.


title: Aryabhata (satellite)

text: It was launched by India on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar, a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).The launch came from an agreement between India and the Soviet Union directed by UR Rao and signed in 1972. It allowed the USSR to use Indian ports for tracking ships and launching vessels in return for launching various different Indian satellites.


title: Aryabhata (satellite)

text: On 19 April 1975, the satellite's 96.46-minute orbit had an apogee of and a perigee of , at an inclination of 50.7 degrees. It was built to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics. The spacecraft was a 26-sided polyhedron in diameter. All faces (except the top and bottom) were covered with solar cells. A power failure halted experiments after four days and 60 orbits with all signals from the spacecraft lost after five days of the operation. Spacecraft mainframe remained active till March 1981. Due to orbital decay the satellite entered Earth's atmosphere on 10 February 1992.


title: STS-135

text: STS-135 (ISS assembly flight ULF7) was the 135th and final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter "Atlantis" and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 launched on 8 July 2011, and landed on 21 July 2011, following a one-day mission extension. The four-person crew was the smallest of any shuttle mission since STS-6 in April 1983. The mission's primary cargo was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) "Raffaello" and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC), which were delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight of "Raffaello" marked the only time that "Atlantis" carried an MPLM.


title: STS-135

text: Although the mission was authorized, it initially had no appropriation in the NASA budget, raising questions about whether the mission would fly. On 20 January 2011, program managers changed STS-335 to STS-135 on the flight manifest. This allowed for training and other mission specific preparations. On 13 February 2011, program managers told their workforce that STS-135 would fly regardless of the funding situation via a continuing resolution. Until this point, there had been no official references to the STS-135 mission in NASA documentation for the general public.


title: STS-135

text: During an address at the Marshall Space Flight Center on 16 November 2010, NASA administrator Charles Bolden said that the agency needed to fly STS-135 to the station in 2011 due to possible delays in the development of commercial rockets and spacecraft designed to transport cargo to the ISS. "We are hoping to fly a third shuttle mission (in addition to STS-133 and STS-134) in June 2011, what everybody calls the launch-on-need mission... and that's really needed to [buy down] the risk for the development time for commercial cargo", Bolden said.


title: STS-135

text: The mission was included in NASA's 2011 authorization, which was signed into law on 11 October 2010, but funding remained dependent on a subsequent appropriations bill. United Space Alliance signed a contract extension for the mission, along with STS-134; the contract contained six one-month options with NASA in order to support continuing operations.


title: STS-135

text: The federal budget approved in April 2011 called for US$5.5 billion for NASA's space operations division, including the shuttle and space station programs. According to NASA, the budget running through 30 September 2011 ended all concerns about funding the STS-135 mission.


title: STS-135

text: NASA announced the STS-335/135 crew on 14 September 2010. Only four astronauts were assigned to this mission, versus the normal six or seven, because there were no other shuttles available for a rescue following the retirement of "Discovery" and "Endeavour." If the shuttle was seriously damaged in orbit, the crew would have moved into the International Space Station and returned in Russian Soyuz capsules, one at a time, over the course of a year. All STS-135 crew members were custom-fitted for a Russian Sokol space suit and molded Soyuz seat liner for this possibility. The reduced crew size also allowed the mission to maximize the payload carried to the ISS. It was the only time that a Shuttle crew of four flew to the ISS. The last shuttle mission to fly with just four crew members occurred 28 years earlier: STS-6 on 4 April 1983 aboard .


title: STS-135

text: With support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the fate of STS-135 ultimately depended on whether lawmakers could agree to fund converting the mission from launch-on-need to an actual flight. On 15 July 2010, a Senate committee passed the 2010 NASA reauthorization bill, authored by Senator Bill Nelson, to direct NASA to fly an extra Space Shuttle mission (STS-135) pending a review of safety concerns. The bill still needed the approval of the full Senate. A draft NASA reauthorization bill considered by the House Science & Technology Committee did not provide for an extra shuttle mission. On 22 July 2010, during a meeting of the House Science Committee, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas successfully amended the House version of the bill to add an additional shuttle mission to the manifest.


title: STS-135

text: On 5 August 2010, the Senate passed its version of the NASA reauthorization bill, just before lawmakers left for the traditional August recess. On 20 August 2010, NASA managers approved STS-135 mission planning targeting a 28 June 2011 launch. On 29 September 2010, the House of Representatives approved the Senate-passed bill on a 304–118 vote. The bill, approved by the U.S. Congress, went to President Barack Obama for his signature.


title: STS-135

text: On 11 October 2010, Obama signed the legislation into law, allowing NASA to move forward with STS-135, though without specific funding. Generally, the average cost of a shuttle mission was about $450 million.


title: STS-135

text: On 20 January 2011, STS-135's designation was officially changed from STS-335. On 14 February 2011, NASA managers announced that STS-135 would fly regardless of the funding situation in Congress.


title: STS-135

text: STS-135 delivered supplies and equipment to provision the space station through 2012, following the end of NASA's Space Shuttle program. Since the ISS program was extended to 2024 (now 2030), the station is resupplied by the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program which took over resupply missions from the Shuttle. A shuttle extension beyond STS-135 wasn't seriously considered, and an ISS extension was never intended to be a guaranteed shuttle program extension, and the Shuttle program officially ended after STS-135.


title: STS-135

text: The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) "Raffaello" made up the majority of the payload. This was "Raffaello"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s fourth trip to the International Space Station since 2001 and the 12th use of an MPLM. Unlike previous MPLM missions that delivered large compartments and devices to outfit the space station laboratories, STS-135 delivered only bags and supply containers. The MPLM was filled with 16 resupply racks, which is the maximum that it could handle. Eight Resupply Stowage Platforms (RSPs), two Integrated Stowage Platforms (ISPs), six Resupply Stowage Racks (RSRs) and one Zero-G Stowage Rack (ZSR), which sits above another rack during transport.


title: STS-135

text: On flight day 4, "Raffaello" was lifted out of "Atlantis"'s payload bay using the station's Canadarm2. It was berthed to nadir port of the "Harmony" node. After completing the cargo transfers to the ISS, "Raffaello" was loaded with almost of unneeded equipment and station waste to be brought back to Earth. On flight day 11, the MPLM was detached from "Harmony" and was secured in the cargo bay of the shuttle.


title: STS-135

text: The Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC) was also carried on STS-135. The External Thermal Cooling System (ETCS) Pump Module (PM) stored on ESP-2, which failed and was replaced on orbit in August 2010, rode home on the LMC so that a failure analysis can be performed on the ground. The Robotic Refueling Mission rode up to the station on the underside of the LMC and was placed onto the ELC-4.


title: STS-135

text: "Atlantis" carried the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) developed by the Satellite Servicing Capabilities project at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It planned to demonstrate the technology and tools to refuel satellites in orbit by robotic means. After the proof of concept, the long-term goal of NASA is to transfer the technology to the commercial sector.


title: STS-135

text: RRM included four tools, each with electronics and two cameras and lights. Additionally, it had pumps and controllers and electrical systems such as electrical valves and sensors.


title: STS-135

text: The RRM payload was transported to the Kennedy Space Center in early March 2011, where the GSFC team performed the final preparations for space flight.


title: STS-135

text: Once up on the International Space Station, RRM will be installed into the ELC-4. The Dextre robot was planned to be used in 2012 and 2013 during the refueling demonstration experiments.


title: STS-135

text: Space Shuttle "Atlantis" carried a miniaturised satellite known as PSSC-2, or Picosatellite Solar Cell Testbed 2 into orbit. PSSC-2 was successfully deployed from the shuttle's cargo bay on flight day 13, becoming the 180th and last Space Shuttle payload to be placed into orbit.


title: STS-135

text: The mission was furthermore the third flight of the TriDAR sensor package designated DTO-701A (Detailed Test Objective), a 3D dual-sensing laser camera, intended for use as an autonomous rendezvous and docking sensor. It was developed by Neptec Design Group and funded by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. TriDAR had previously flown on STS-128 and STS-131, aboard Space Shuttle "Discovery". TriDAR provides guidance information that can be used for rendezvous and docking operations in orbit, planetary landings and vehicle inspection/navigation of robotic rovers. It does not rely on any reference markers, such as reflectors, positioned on the target spacecraft, instead using a laser-based 3D sensor and a thermal imager. Geometric information contained in successive 3D images is matched against the known shape of the target object to calculate its position and orientation in real-time.


title: STS-135

text: The sensor was emplaced on the exterior airlock truss next to a Trajectory Control System (TCS) sensor. The TriDAR hardware was installed in "Atlantis"'s payload bay on 6 April 2011. On STS-135, TriDAR was used to demonstrate technology for autonomous rendezvous and docking in orbit.


title: STS-135

text: STS-135 returned to Earth carrying several items of downmass payload. The failed ammonia Pump Module that was replaced in August 2010 was returned inside "Atlantis"'s payload bay, on the upper side of the LMC. Also, a problematic Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Heat Exchanger (HX) was expected to be returned inside the MPLM. The shuttle also brought back material, including experiments, in its middeck lockers. Since STS-135 only had four crew members, astronauts did not occupy the middeck. Resultingly, compared to previous shuttle missions to the Space Station, additional storage space was available.


title: STS-135

text: An iPhone was used by astronauts to log experiments, and was left on the ISS for future use. Two Nexus S smartphones were also installed inside Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) to allow the crew to pilot them aboard the ISS.


title: STS-135

text: External Tank 138 (ET-138) was produced at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans and arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on the Pegasus barge. After offloading, the tank was transported into a checkout cell inside the VAB on 14 July 2010.


title: STS-135

text: NASA initially planned for STS-134 ("Endeavour") to fly with the newer ET-138 and for the LON STS-335 ("Atlantis") mission to utilize the refurbished ET-122 only in the event that a rescue of "Endeavour"s crew were required. During Hurricane Katrina, ET-122 was damaged at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans and while the tank was certified as completely flight-worthy after its repairs were completed, NASA management ruled that ET-122 posed a slightly higher risk of losing foam from the repaired areas and therefore assigned it to the STS-335 mission that would likely never fly. However, once it was decided to fly "Atlantis" on a full STS-135 mission, the tank assignments were swapped so that in the event STS-134 ("Endeavour") were to suffer damage from ET-122, "Atlantis" with the newer and less risky ET-138 would be poised to rescue "Endeavour"s crew.


title: STS-135

text: In early December 2010, ground technicians installed the main engines on "Atlantis". The Shuttle received the center engine on 7 December 2010, followed by the lower-right engine and the lower-left on 8 and 9 December 2010 respectively inside Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1). The event marked the last set of main engines to be installed on a Space Shuttle.


title: STS-135

text: Stacking operations of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) for the mission commenced in the evening hours of 29 March 2011. Technicians inside the VAB, lifted the left-aft segment from the handling crate and carefully maneuvered into High Bay No. 1 and finally onto the mobile launch platform. The booster stacking was completed in mid April. The completed boosters had a mixture of refurbished and unflown elements (11 sections on each booster). For example, the forward dome for the right-hand booster is new, while the upper cylinder on the left booster flew with STS-1 – the historic maiden flight of Space Shuttle "Columbia". (For detailed information on the STS-135 boosters, see)


title: STS-135

text: President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, viewed "Atlantis" at the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1) on their visit to the Kennedy Space Center on 29 April 2011. The president's family missed the launch of "Endeavour" on the STS-134 mission, as the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to problems with two heaters on one of "Endeavour"s auxiliary power units (APUs).


title: STS-135

text: During their tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility, the president's family was accompanied by United Space Alliance tile technician Terry White and astronaut Janet Kavandi. Standing under the wings of Space Shuttle "Atlantis", White gave the president and his family an informal tutorial.


title: STS-135

text: On the early morning of 17 May 2011, Space Shuttle "Atlantis" departed OPF-1 and headed to the VAB for mating operations with ET-138. The short trip took longer than normal and allowed the shuttle workers to pose for a photo opportunity with the shuttle. The four STS-135 astronauts were also present to greet the workers and representatives of the media. "Atlantis" remained on the Orbiter Transport System overnight, as opposed to heading over to High Bay 1 on the same day.


title: STS-135

text: Inside the VAB transfer aisle, lifting operations to rotate "Atlantis" vertically commenced on 18 May 2011. The crane that hoisted the shuttle placed it into the adjacent high bay. "Atlantis" was next lowered to meet up with the external tank and the two solid rocket boosters. The mating operations were completed on 19 May 2011. On the same day, NASA officially announced 8 July 2011 as the intended launch date of the STS-135 mission.


title: STS-135

text: "Atlantis" was rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on 1 June. The first motion of "Atlantis" out of the Vehicle Assembly Building began at 20:42 EDT on 31 May 2011. Due to a minor hydraulic leak on a corner valve for the jacking and elevation system on the crawler-transporter, the move was delayed by 40 minutes. After the journey, the shuttle was secured on the launch pad at 03:29 EDT on 1 June 2011.


title: STS-135

text: Large crowds, including the families of NASA's workforce, were present during the rollout. The STS-135 crew was also at the Kennedy Space Center to witness the last-ever rollout of a Space Shuttle. The crew participated in an informal Question & Answer session with news media, which was aired live on NASA TV. While "Atlantis" was rolled out to the launch pad, "Endeavour" was landing a few miles away at the Shuttle Landing Facility, touching down on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15 at 02:34 EDT after completing its final mission, STS-134.


title: STS-135

text: "Atlantis"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s external tank for the STS-135 mission was put through a tanking test on 15 June 2011 to check the health of the tank's stringers. It was slightly delayed due to a lightning storm which passed over the Kennedy Space Center. During the test, technicians detected a hydrogen fuel valve leak in "Atlantis"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s main engine No. 3, as it recorded temperatures below normal levels. The leaking hydrogen valve was replaced on 21 June.


title: STS-135

text: On 18 June, engineers also commenced X-ray inspections to verify the performance of the radius block doublers that were installed over the top of the stringers. The stringers form the backbone of ET-138's central "intertank" compartment that separates the upper liquid oxygen tank from the larger liquid hydrogen tank below. The installation of the doublers on ET-138 was ordered after engineers found stringer cracks in the tank used for "Discovery"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s STS-133 mission. Technicians finished all X-ray scans of the stringers on 24 June, well ahead of schedule. After analyzing the results, they found no issues.


title: STS-135

text: The STS-135 payload canister's move to Launch Pad 39A began in the night of 16 June. The canister's lifting up of the pad structure to place it into the cleanroom happened on the next day. Technicians at the launch pad closed the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) back around "Atlantis" to gain access to the orbiter's payload bay. The payload bay doors were opened on the night of 18 June and the cargo was installed into the shuttle's payload bay on 20 June.


title: STS-135

text: The STS-135 crew then traveled to Kennedy Space Center, arriving in T-38 training jets just after 17:30 EDT on 20 June to take part in the countdown dress rehearsal and emergency training drills. After the arrival, the four astronauts spoke to reporters at the runway and acknowledged the historic nature of the final shuttle mission. "We're incredibly proud to represent the final flight," noted the commander, Chris Ferguson. During the training, the crew spent time learning pad 39A evacuation procedures and test-drove an armored tank available for the astronauts to escape the area. They also boarded "Atlantis" for a full countdown simulation on 23 June.


title: STS-135

text: The launch day was threatened by unfavorable weather leaving only a 30% chance of a launch occurring; this changed an hour before launch to 60% chance of launch. Launch director Mike Leinbach conducted the final series of GO/NO GO polls to verify the launch readiness. Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Michael P. Moses also issued a waiver for return to landing site (RTLS) weather. Later at the post-launch news conference, Moses explained that his decision was based on the fact although a few showers that were popping up within the radius from the Shuttle Landing Facility at RTLS landing were a launch constraint, the showers would have been cleared by the time of a RTLS landing (if it did) 35 minutes later.


title: STS-135

text: At the end of the poll Leinbach told the crew "Good luck to you and your crew on the final flight of this true American icon. Good luck, godspeed and have a little fun up there" to which commander Chris Ferguson replied "Thanks to you and your team Mike, until the very end you all made it look easy. The Shuttle will always be reflection of what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and commit to follow through. We're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end. The crew of Atlantis is ready to launch".


title: STS-135

text: At T-31 seconds, just before "Atlantis"s computers were supposed to take control of the flight, the launch countdown clock stopped. This was because of a lack of an indication that the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm had retracted and properly latched, a problem that had never occurred during previous launches in the program's history. Soon the launch team was able to verify the Vent Arm's position with the help of a closed circuit camera, and the countdown clock resumed after approximately 2 minutes, 18 seconds.


title: STS-135

text: The final flight of Space Shuttle "Atlantis" launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 8 July at 11:29:03.9 EDT with launch commentator George Diller saying, "All three engines up and burning, two, one, zero and liftoff! The final liftoff of Atlantis – on the shoulders of the space shuttle, America will continue the dream". The launch was cheered by a crowd of nearly one million inside the Kennedy Space Center and in the surrounding area. Powered flight conformed to the standard timeline, with the two boosters separating from the ET after two minutes and five seconds, and the main engine cutoff (MECO) occurring at 15:37:28 GMT at a Mission Elapsed Time (MET) of 8 minutes and 24 seconds. The external tank, ET-138, separated from the shuttle at 15:37:49 GMT. A modification made in the ET-138 camera allowed it to beam back video of the tank's disintegration in the atmosphere. A further boost from the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines (the OMS-1 burn) was not required due to the nominal MECO, and "Atlantis" settled into an initial 225 x 58 km roughly 51.6 degree orbit. The crew performed several course correction actions on Flight Day 1. These included the 64 seconds OMS-2 burn which pushed "Atlantis" into a 230 x 158 km orbit and the NC-1 engine firing for 94 seconds to adjust the shuttle's orbital path to match with the Space Station. The NC-1 firing altered the shuttle's velocity by about .


title: STS-135

text: NASA held a post-launch news conference at 12:10 CDT with Bill Gerstenmaier, Robert Cabana (director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center), Mike Moses and Mike Leinbach.


title: STS-135

text: After opening the shuttle's payload bay doors at 17:03:20 GMT, the crew began configuring "Atlantis" for on-orbit operations. The K-band antenna was deployed and the self-test was completed with satisfactory results. CAPCOM astronaut Barry Wilmore radioed the crew from mission control in Houston, reporting that a preliminary analysis found no signs of any significant debris or impact damage during the ascent. Commander Ferguson and Pilot Hurley also powered up the Shuttle's Robotic Arm and checked its functions ahead of next day's planned thermal protection survey.


title: STS-135

text: A crowd at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center greeted the crew with a unique "good morning" call. "Good morning Atlantis, the Marshall Space Flight Center hopes you enjoyed your ride to orbit." We wish you a successful mission and a safe return home," the workers said in a recorded video message.


title: STS-135

text: The main objective of the day was to inspect "Atlantis"'s thermal protection system, using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to look for any signs of launch damage. To do so, Commander Ferguson, Pilot Hurley and Mission Specialist Magnus used the shuttle's robotic arm and the OBSS to get a close up look at reinforced carbon–carbon wing leading edges and the nose cap of the shuttle. The robotic arm grappled the OBSS at 6:58 a.m. EDT. After raising out the arm-boom assembly, the crew activated the camera and laser sensor package on the boom to first scan the starboard wing. The nose cap was surveyed next followed by the port wing. The gathered visual and electronic data were downlinked during numerous Ku band communication opportunities to the ground. With imagery on their hand, experts began to review the data. The heat shield survey started around 11:00 UTC, was wrapped about five hours later. In his NASA TV commentary, NASA Public Affairs Officer, Rob Navias, said that most of the time, the crew worked ahead of schedule opting to take meals while working. The crew received high praise for their efficient work from the Mission Control Houston including CAPCOM astronaut Stephen Robinson who communicated with them during the survey.


title: STS-135

text: While the TPS survey was under way, Mission Specialist Walheim spent much of his afternoon on the shuttle's middeck. He worked to prepare items carried into orbit there for transfer to the space station. Later in the day, Walheim worked with Hurley to check out the rendezvous tools that would be used during "Atlantis"'s docking with the ISS on Flight Day 3. Meanwhile, Ferguson and Magnus installed the center-line camera in the window of the shuttle's hatch for a view that would help them align "Atlantis" with the space station.


title: STS-135

text: The NC2 and NC3 course correction burns were also performed during Flight Day 2 to change the flight path of "Atlantis" en route to the ISS. The NC3 maneuver lasted seven seconds and changed the shuttle's velocity by about . Aboard the ISS, the Expedition 28 crew completed the pressurization of Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA-2), located at the forward docking port of the Harmony module, ahead of the shuttle's docking. Crew members Fossum, Volkov and Furukawa also held a meeting with the ground imagery experts to discuss the planned photography shoot during "Atlantis"'s rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM).


title: STS-135

text: During the mission status briefing from the Johnson Space Flight Center (JSC), shuttle flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho said that "Atlantis" was off to one of the smoothest starts of any mission in the 30-year history of NASA's shuttle program. He told reporters, "I think this is certainly one of the better starts that we have seen".


title: STS-135

text: The STS-135 crew began their day at 07:29 UTC and prepared to dock with the ISS. The crew encountered a minor problem when "Atlantis"'s General Purpose Computer (GPC3) failed. However, this held no impacts for the rendezvous and docking operations as two GPCs proved sufficient.


title: STS-135

text: Commander Chris Ferguson and pilot Douglas Hurley performed a series of rendezvous burns (NH, NC4, NCC, MC1-4 and TI) to boost the orbit of "Atlantis" to match with that of the ISS. At 11:40 UTC, with about 9 miles (14 km) separating the shuttle and the ISS, Ferguson performed the final 12-second terminal initiation (TI) burn, firing the left OMS engine of "Atlantis" at 12:29 UTC. It placed the shuttle below the Space Station at 13:51 UTC. By 13:26 UTC, with Ferguson flying "Atlantis" from the aft flight deck, the shuttle positioned beneath the ISS and began the 360-degree flip rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM). As the shuttle's underside rotated into view, three of the Expedition 28 ISS crew members – Sergei Volkov, Mike Fossum and Satoshi Furukawa using cameras with 1000 mm, 800 mm and 400 mm lenses, respectively, photographed "Atlantis"'s under belly for 90 seconds, as part of post-launch inspections of the thermal protection system. The photos were sent to mission control in Houston to be evaluated by experts on the ground to look for any damage.


title: STS-135

text: "Atlantis" docked with the ISS Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 at 15:07 UTC as the two orbited 220 miles (350 km) over the South Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand. This was "Atlantis"s 19th docking to a Space Station. "Houston, station, Atlantis, capture confirmed and we see free drift," radioed Hurley, confirming the successful docking. In reply, "Atlantis arriving," said Ron Garan after the ceremonial ringing of the station's bell. "Welcome to the International Space Station for the last time". A series of leak checks were done on both sides of the hatches, before they were opened at 16:47 UTC. Shortly afterwards, the shuttle crew floated into the station's "Harmony" module at 16:55 UTC. After a brief welcoming ceremony by the station crew, "Atlantis"s astronauts received the standard station safety briefing.


title: STS-135

text: The crew then got to work with Ferguson and Hurley using the shuttle arm to take its OBSS from the station's Canadarm2 operated by Garan and Furukawa. The station arm had plucked the OBSS from its stowage position on the shuttle cargo bay sill. The handoff was to prepare to use the boom for any shuttle heat shield late inspections if required. Magnus worked with TV setup and Walheim transferred spacewalk gear.


title: STS-135

text: During Flight Day 3, flight controllers began monitoring reports from the Department of Defense's U.S. Strategic Command that an orbital debris piece of the Russian satellite COSMOS 375 may come near the station and shuttle complex about noon the next day. The team updated tracking information following the docking and determined that no course correction maneuver was necessary.


title: STS-135

text: The main objective of Flight Day 4 was to install the "Raffaello" MPLM on the nadir port of the station's "Harmony" module. The crew started their day in space at 7:02. The song Tubthumping by Chumbawamba was played to wake the astronauts up. Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus, along with Pilot Doug Hurley, used the Canadarm2, beginning at 9:09 UTC, to remove the "Raffaello" module from the payload bay of "Atlantis". The two installed the MPLM on the "Harmony" node at 10:46 UTC. After leak checks, hatches between "Raffaello" and the ISS were opened before noon.


title: STS-135

text: Because "Atlantis" launched on time with a full load of onboard consumables for its electricity-generating fuel cells, and due to power saving operations employed during the first three days, on Flight Day 4, NASA's managers approved a one-day mission extension. According to NASA, the mission was extended primarily to allow the crew to spend more time on cargo transfers. CAPCOM Megan McArthur also notified commander Chris Ferguson that the Mission Management Team decided not to do a Focused Inspection of the "Atlantis"s heat shield. The Damage Assessment Team had only found one tile ding along with four areas of minor damage to insulating blankets, said chairman Leroy Cain during the day's Mission Management Briefing aired on NASA TV.


title: STS-135

text: Shortly before the end of their workday, STS-135 crew members and Expedition 28 crew members Ron Garan, Mike Fossum and Satoshi Furuakawa met for about an hour to review procedures for the next day's spacewalk.


title: STS-135

text: Flight day 5 saw Expedition 28 Flight Engineers Mike Fossum and Ron Garan perform a spacewalk. Because of a short training flow and a requirement to launch the shuttle with a reduced crew of four, NASA opted not to utilize two spacewalkers from the STS-135 crew. The main tasks for the spacewalk included retrieving a failed pump module from an external stowage platform of the ISS for return to Earth inside the shuttle's cargo bay, installing two experiments and repairing a new base for the station's robotic arm. The spacewalk began at 13:22 UTC (NASA Rule). For identification, Fossum's EMU spacesuit had red stripes around the legs, while Garan's had no markings. The spacewalkers used Canadarm2 to retrieve the pump module which failed in 2010. Operated by STS-135 Pilot Hurley and Mission Specialist Magnus in the station's cupola, Garan rode Canadarm2 to the pump module's stowage platform where he and Fossum removed it. Still on the arm, Garan took the pump module inside "Atlantis"s payload bay. There Fossum bolted it into place on the LMC. The astronauts next removed the Robotics Refueling Mission (RRM) experiment from the payload bay. Fossum, now on the arm, carried the experiment to a platform on Dextre for temporary storage, while Garan cleaned up tools and equipment in the payload bay of "Atlantis". Recognizing the historical significance, Mission Specialist Rex Walheim, who served as the intra-vehicular officer to coordinate the spacewalk from "Atlantis"s flight deck, radioed: "Take a look around, Ronny. You're the last EVA person in the payload bay of a shuttle."


title: STS-135

text: Upon completion of the installation, Fossum moved to the front of the "Zarya" module and freed a wire stuck in one latch door at a data grapple fixture. The fixture had been installed during STS-134, the previous shuttle mission. The grapple fixture serves as a base for Canadarm2, considerably extending its range of operation on the Russian segment of the ISS. Garan also deployed a materials experiment (MISSE-8) that focuses on optical reflector materials, also installed during STS-134, on the Express Logistics Carrier (ELC-2) FRAM-3 site on the station's starboard truss. Back together again, Fossum and Garan moved on to the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA-3) on the "Tranquility" node. They installed an insulating cover on the end of the adapter, an area exposed to considerable sunshine.


title: STS-135

text: The two astronauts completed the six-hour, 31-minute spacewalk at 19:53 UTC. It was the 160th spacewalk in support of ISS assembly and maintenance and 249th spacewalk by U.S. astronauts. Inside the shuttle-station complex, transfer of material from the "Raffaello" MPLM began.


title: STS-135

text: A urine processor in a U.S. toilet located in the "Tranquility" module was turned off since on Flight Day 4, as the astronauts reported a strong odor from the equipment. The decision was made since during the spacewalk, Hurley and Magnus used a robotics work station in the cupola.


title: STS-135

text: The "Atlantis" crew received a special wakeup message from Sir Elton John to start flight day 6. The message followed the day's wakeup song which was played at 6:29 UTC. "Atlantis"s crew focused on unpacking supplies from the "Raffaello" MPLM. The crew started the day 26 percent through the combined 15,069 pounds of cargo to transfer in or out of "Raffaello". The MPLM was launched with 9,403 pounds of cargo and was expected to return 5,666 pounds when "Atlantis" landed. The supplies and equipment that "Atlantis" astronauts delivered to the orbiting outpost was expected to keep the station well supplied through 2012.


title: STS-135

text: The crew had some help from the station crew of Andrey Borisenko, Sergei Volkov and Satoshi Furukawa in the transfer operations. Crew members also opened the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA-3), attached to the "Tranquility" node, and stored some of the material from "Raffaello" there. Station lead flight director Chris Edelen said at an afternoon briefing that about 50% of the cargo had been moved from "Raffaello" and the shuttle's middeck to the space station.


title: STS-135

text: All four shuttle crew members took some time out of their work at 16:54 UTC to talk with reporters from WBNG-TV and WICZ-TV in Binghamton, New York, near Pilot Doug Hurley's home town of Apalachin and KGO-TV of San Francisco.


title: STS-135

text: During Flight Day 6, Space Shuttle "Discovery" was moved from the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2) to the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to enter storage. This move was planned in order to house "Atlantis" in OPF-2 after landing.


title: STS-135

text: The crew also took some time off to participate in several special events. At 10:59 UTC, Commander Ferguson and Mission Specialist Magnus spoke with reporters from Fox News Radio and KTVI-TV and KSDK-TV in St. Louis. Then, at about 13:20 UTC, the entire crew was interviewed by WBBM-TV in Chicago, KTVU-TV in Oakland, California, and WTXF-TV in Philadelphia. Afterward the shuttle crew had most of the afternoon off. For dinner, both the "Atlantis" and station crews enjoyed a special "All-American Meal" of barbecue brisket or grilled chicken and baked beans, southwestern corn and apple pie. NASA invited the public to share in it, virtually.


title: STS-135

text: NASA on flight day 7 released the video captured by cameras mounted on each of "Atlantis"s solid rocket boosters showing the launch of the shuttle.


title: STS-135

text: The shuttle astronauts went to sleep as planned but were awakened by the sound of a master alarm on board "Atlantis" at 22:07 GMT. The tone signaled a failure with one of "Atlantis"s five IBM AP-101 General Purpose Computers (GPCs) No. 4. The alarm prompted Commander Ferguson to head to "Atlantis" and evaluate the issue. GPC-4 was running system management software at the time of failure. Ferguson with the help of Ground Control later transferred the failed GPC's programs onto GPC-2. The transfer took about 45 minutes, bypassing an expected period of loss of signal by utilizing communications at White Sands, New Mexico. After activating GPC-2 and with "Atlantis" in good shape, Ferguson and other crew members went back to sleep. "You all have done an absolutely fabulous job. We have polled the room, everyone is ready for you to go back to sleep," radioed CAPCOM Shannon Lucid from Mission Control.


title: STS-135

text: As a result of the extra time spent on fixing the GPC-4 issue, Mission Control extended the crew sleep period by 30 minutes. Although no root cause was immediately identified, ground controllers immediately ruled out any connection between GPC-4 malfunction and the problem suffered by GPC-3 ahead of docking.


title: STS-135

text: The crew awakened at 4:59 UTC to a special message and a song from Sir Paul McCartney. The wake up call was 30 minutes later than "Atlantis"s crew had been scheduled in order to give them time to make up sleep they lost over the course of the night due to the failure of GPC-4. Early on the day, "Atlantis" commander Ferguson and pilot Hurley re-loaded software and successfully restarted the GPC-4. Flight controllers in Houston also downloaded data dumps to carefully monitor the computer to make sure that it was running normally.


title: STS-135

text: While Ferguson and Hurley focused on computer troubleshooting, Mission Specialists Magnus and Walheim together with the station crew continued to work on cargo transfers between "Atlantis" and the ISS. Walheim also transferred EMU/airlock items to "Atlantis" that wouldn't be needed in the post-shuttle era.


title: STS-135

text: Several media interviews happened at about 10:45 UTC. Ferguson and Doug Hurley talked with representatives of CBS Radio, KYW-TV in Philadelphia and Associated Press. Next, beginning at 12:04 UTC all STS-135 crew members talked with WPVI-TV and KYW Radio, both of Philadelphia, and Reuters. At the 45-minute crew news conference, "Atlantis" crew members and their station colleagues gathered in the Japanese "Kibo" Laboratory to take questions from news media. Reporters at four NASA centers, NASA headquarters and in Japan participated.


title: STS-135

text: President Barack Obama, at about 16:30 UTC also called the combined Expedition 28 and "Atlantis" crews. He thanked those who had supported the shuttle program and said that he was proud of all the crew members. Shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson said that all the partners on the station were honored to represent their home countries in this multinational effort and station Flight Engineer Sergei Volkov described the station and shuttle crews, from three nations, as "one big family".


title: STS-135

text: During the Mission Status Briefing, the STS-135 lead flight director, Kwatsi Alibaruho, said that transfers were right on timeline with 70% complete. The crew was ahead of timeline on earlier days but the computer problem caused them to slow down. He further mentioned that the latch on "Atlantis"s middeck locker for LiOH canisters was broken, and as a result, the entire panel had been fastened to floor with fasteners. The LiOH canisters are used to scrub carbon dioxide from the cabin air inside the shuttle. When "Atlantis" is docked to the space station, the station Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) takes care of both the station's and "Atlantis"s air revitalization. However, when "Atlantis" flew solo after undocking, LiOH canisters were required. Regarding the GPC-4 issue, Alibaruho said that it was a very infrequent failure, happened before only on STS-9 and the last time a problem occurred on GPC 4 was on "Atlantis"s STS-71 mission.


title: STS-135

text: Flight day 9 was the bonus day added by the Mission Management Team earlier on the week as a result of "Atlantis" having been able to save enough cryogenic oxygen and hydrogen to power its fuel cells an extra day. Throughout the day, the four member STS-135 crew spent more time to move supplies and equipment between the ISS and the "Raffaello" MPLM.


title: STS-135

text: Early on the day, Commander Ferguson and Pilot Hurley also spent some time working to successfully repair the door that gives the crew access to the LiOH canisters. Mission Specialist Magnus spent about an hour and a half in the morning taking microbial air samples on various locations in the space station. The collected samples will be returned for study and further analysis. Magnus also worked the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS). Mission Specialist Walheim along with station crew member Mike Fossum continued work with spacewalking equipment in the Quest airlock. Some of them will be left on the station, and will be utilized during an upcoming Russian spacewalks on 3 August 2011. Hurley working with station crew member Ron Garan stored some of the cargo in "Atlantis"s middeck to be returned. Since no astronaut was riding in the mid-deck on the way back, it was expected to be fully packed with 1564 pounds of cargo. Among cargo brought to the space station, 2281 pounds were also in the mid-deck.


title: STS-135

text: The STS-135 crew also provided a recorded message as a tribute to "Atlantis", the entire Space Shuttle Program and team. In the message, Ferguson spoke about the U.S. flag displayed behind them that was flown on the first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1. It was flown on this mission to be presented to the space station crew. The flag remained displayed on board the space station until the next crew launched from the U.S. to the International Space Station retrieved it for return to Earth, which was done by the Crew Dragon Demo-2 crew on June 1, 2020.


title: STS-135

text: In a video celebrating the centennial of naval aviation, Commander Ferguson and Pilot Hurley also paid tribute to U.S. naval aviators. Among many those who have made significant contributions to the U.S. human space program, Hurley mentioned several names such as Alan Shepard, the first American to fly in space; John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth; Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the first and last humans to set foot on the Moon; John Young and Robert Crippen, the first pilots of the Space Shuttle; and Ferguson and Hurley, the commander and the pilot of the current (last) shuttle flight.


title: STS-135

text: Just before the crew prepared to go for sleep, CAPCOM Megan McArthur notified them that the flight controllers thought that the GPC-4 failure was caused by a single event upset (teams on the ground listed a Coronal Mass Ejection as one of three potential contributing factors) and that GPC-4 was a healthy machine. Furthermore, she mentioned that the plan was to assign systems management (SM) to GPC-4 the next morning and if no further problems arose, it was to be kept for undocking.


title: STS-135

text: On Flight Day 10, the crew of "Atlantis" wrapped up the transfer work inside the "Raffaello" MPLM. During the Mission Status Briefing, Space Station lead Flight Director Chris Edelen said that "They (crew) reached a key milestone today in that the "Raffaello" logistics module was closed out, all the cargo that (came) up to space station has been transferred over, that was actually completed a couple of days ago, and today they've packed "Raffaello" with all the return cargo that's going to be coming back to Earth". STS-135 delivered of cargo in the MPLM up to the space station and the crew packed up of returning cargo inside the MPLM. The crew also installed the control and power assemblies in the hatch leading into the MPLM. On the next day, the controllers were used to drive the bolts to release the MPLM from Node 2.


title: STS-135

text: At 10:10 UTC, pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim answered videotaped questions from students at NASA Explorer Schools across the United States. It was the last interactive educational event conducted by a Space Shuttle crew.


title: STS-135

text: After their midday meal, Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus and Commander Chris Ferguson worked a little over an hour continuing to move experiments and equipment to and from "Atlantis"s middeck. At the end 84% of middeck transfers were completed. The crew transferred a new science refrigerator (GLACIER) from the Shuttle's middeck to the Space Station. Another couple of noteworthy middeck payloads that were transferred included the mass spectrometer in the mass constituent analyzer, a device in the U.S. segment that samples air from different parts of the station to determine its constituents. Flight Engineer Ron Garan removed the broken spectrometer and moved it to "Atlantis"s middeck for return. The suspect gyroscope in the TVIS treadmill located in the Russian segment removed by Flight Engineer Sergey Alexandrovich Volkov was also placed in the middeck. After completing those transfers, the shuttle crew had most of the afternoon off.


title: STS-135

text: NASA TV also showed a recorded video in which Magnus, a soccer enthusiast and Station Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa cheer on their country's women's world cup soccer teams. On 17 July, the U.S. team played against Japan, in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup final in Hannover, Germany. Japan won the final on a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 tie after extra time.


title: STS-135

text: The STS-135 crew returned the MPLM back to "Atlantis"s payload bay on flight day 11, closed the hatches between the Space Station and the Shuttle and prepared for next day's undocking.


title: STS-135

text: Beginning at 5:03 UTC, the hatches separating "Raffaello" MPLM and the ISS were closed. With station's Canadarm2 locked onto "Raffaello", commands were issued at 10:14 UTC to begin the releasing operations of the 16 motorized bolts holding the MPLM in place on the station's Node 2. Arm operators, Mission Specialist Magnus and Pilot Hurley working inside the cupola, un-berthed "Raffaello" at 10:48 UTC and moved it back to "Atlantis"s payload bay. The move was completed by around 11:48 UTC. The securing of the "Raffaello" in the shuttle's payload bay marked the tenth and final transfer of an MPLM in the history of the Space Shuttle program.


title: STS-135

text: "Atlantis" and Space Station crew members said their goodbyes and closed hatches between the two spacecraft at 14:28 UTC, ending seven days, 21 hours, 41 minutes of joined docked operations. At the farewell ceremony, Commander Ferguson presented to the station a small U.S. flag that had flown on STS-1. He also presented a shuttle model signed by program officials and the mission's lead shuttle and station flight directors. "What you don't see is the signatures of the tens of thousands who rose to orbit with us over the past 30 years, if only in spirit," Ferguson said.


title: STS-135

text: Ferguson thanked Expedition 28 commander Andrey Borisenko for the hospitality and his crew's help in making the mission a success. Borisenko replied by wishing the shuttle crew a safe trip home and happy landings. Station Flight Engineer Ron Garan especially thanked Magnus for her "load master" activity of moving cargo between the two spacecraft.


title: STS-135

text: Shortly after the crew returned to "Atlantis", hatches between the two spacecraft were closed. They carried out tasks to prepare for the undocking from the Space Station. Ferguson and Hurley installed the centerline camera while hatch leak checks were still under way. Hurley and Walheim also checked out the rendezvous tools.


title: STS-135

text: Space Shuttle "Atlantis" undocked from the Space Station early on flight day 12, marking the end of shuttle visits to the orbiting outpost. With pilot Douglas Hurley at the control, undocking occurred at 6:28 UTC as the two spacecraft flew through orbital night above the Pacific Ocean east of Christchurch, New Zealand. Shortly after, in keeping with naval tradition, flight engineer Ron Garan rang the station's bell in the "Harmony" module, and said "Atlantis, departing the International Space Station for the last time."


title: STS-135

text: After undocking, "Atlantis" moved away, to a station keeping point about ahead of the ISS. Before beginning a final half-lap unique fly, pilot Doug Hurley paused the shuttle by firing thrusters for a moment and during this time the space station changed its orientation by rotating 90 degrees to the right. That gave the "Atlantis" crew a good opportunity to take still camera photographs and shoot video of station areas not normally documented in previous shuttle fly-arounds. The images were expected to help experts on the ground to get additional information on the station's conditions. The half-lap fly around which began around 7:30 UTC was completed about 25 minutes later.


title: STS-135

text: Teams in both shuttle and station flight control rooms in Houston were working their last shuttle shift. Commander Ferguson thanked the Orbit 1 team of shuttle flight controllers headed by Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho. He urged them to pause a moment on their way out and "make a memory." From the station flight control room, CAPCOM Daniel Tani, told Ferguson that it had been "a pleasure and an honor" to support the mission. "We are proud to be the last of a countless line of mission control teams who have watched while shuttles visited the ISS. The ISS wouldn't be here without the shuttle," noted Tani. "It's been an incredible ride. On behalf of the four of us, we're really appreciative we had the opportunity to work with you on this pivotal mission," replied Ferguson.


title: STS-135

text: At the end of the half-loop, "Atlantis" did two TI separation burns, the second at 8:18 UTC to move away from the vicinity of the space station.


title: STS-135

text: After their midday meal, Ferguson, Hurley and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus did the late survey of "Atlantis"'s heat shield, focused on the reinforced carbon carbon (RCC) of the wing leading edges and the nose cap. They used the shuttle's RMS and its OBSS to look first at the starboard wing, then the nose cap and finally the port wing. The crew completed the inspections at 2:30 UTC. Magnus and ground engineers began reviewing the collected data to verify that shuttle's TPS has received no impact damage from micrometeoroids or space junk during its docked operations or fly-around of the station. At the end of a highly successful day in space, the crew members went to bed at 4:59 UTC.


title: STS-135

text: Flight day 13 was the final full day in space for the STS-135 crew. They spent the day checking out "Atlantis"′s flight control surfaces and hot-firing its reaction control system (RCS) jets, making sure everything was ready for deorbit. Mission managers cleared "Atlantis" for re-entry after reviewing results of the late inspection survey of the shuttle's heat shield, performed by the crew on the flight day 12.


title: STS-135

text: "Atlantis"'s crew also deployed an 8.2-lb (3.7-kg), 5×5×10-inch technology demonstration picosatellite, the Pico-Satellite Solar Cell experiment (PSSC-2), into a low Earth orbit at around 360 km, from inside a spring ejection canister in the shuttle's payload bay. The picosatellite relayed data back on the performance of its solar cells, which were based on new technology intended for use on future satellites. PSSC-2, which was deployed at 7:54 UTC, was the 180th and final payload deployed by a Space Shuttle. Shortly after, CAPCOM astronaut Barry Wilmore congratulated the crew from the ground on the successful deployment. Mission specialist Rex Walheim marked the milestone by reciting an original poem. "Outstanding, Rex, we applaud you," Wilmore said amid cheers from the Houston Flight Control Room.


title: STS-135

text: The crew also participated in one last round of interviews with reporters on the ground. At 8:44 UTC, the crew talked with ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News.


title: STS-135

text: Later in the day, the crew finished their final preparations for "Atlantis's" planned landing. Commander Ferguson and Pilot Hurley practiced landing procedures with a video game-like simulator, the Portable Inflight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT). At 6:15 UTC, Ferguson, Hurley and Walheim powered up one of the APUs to conduct OPS-8 activities. This process verified the functionality of "Atlantis"'s flight control surfaces, actuating the rudder, speed brakes, wing and tail body flaps which guided the shuttle through the atmosphere. They then stowed the Ku-Band antenna at 10:34 p.m. EDT and went to sleep.


title: STS-135

text: The Empire State Building in New York City paid tribute to 30 years of Space Shuttle flights by lighting up in red, white and blue throughout the night of 20 July.


title: STS-135

text: The final day began with the wakeup song "God Bless America" played at 12:29 UTC. According to CAPCOM Shannon Lucid, the song was dedicated to not only the entire crew, but also to all "the men and women who put their heart and soul into the shuttle program for all these years".


title: STS-135

text: The weather outlook for the landing was promising, with visibility and crosswinds. Flight controllers decided against delaying the landing until daylight, citing the excellent weather conditions. The crew was given a "go" to start "fluid loading", which involved drinking large amounts of liquids and salt tablets. The protocol assists the incoming astronauts from space with weightlessness conditions to re-adapt to Earth's gravity.


title: STS-135

text: The de-orbit burn occurred at 4:49:04 a.m. EDT for three minutes and 17 seconds to decelerate the craft over the Indian Ocean near northwestern Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The shuttle was re-oriented into forward, right-side-up free-flight. The Shuttle crew continued its descent and entered the earth's atmosphere around 5:25 a.m. EDT. Shuttle technicians moved onto the shuttle landing site around 5:35 a.m. EDT. The craft eventually decelerated to coast at . The Space Shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center on runway 15 at 5:57:00 am EDT. Nose Gear touch down occurred at 5:57:20 am EDT. Wheelstop occurred at 5:57:54 am EDT.


title: STS-135

text: Recognizing the conclusion of an era, Mission Commentator Rob Navias declared on nose wheel touchdown "Having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the shuttle pulls into port for the last time. Its voyage, at an end." Just after wheels stop, also recognizing the historical enormity of the final landing, Commander Chris Ferguson said "Mission complete, Houston, After serving the world for over 30 years, the shuttle has earned its place in history, and it has come to a final stop." to which Entry CAPCOM Barry Wilmore replied "We congratulate you, "Atlantis", as well as the thousands of passionate individuals across this great space faring nation who truly empowered this incredible spacecraft which for three decades has inspired millions around the globe. Job well done America!" Ferguson replied "The Space Shuttle changed the way we viewed the world. It's changed the way we view our universe. There's a lot of emotion today, but one thing is indisputable: America's not gonna stop exploring. Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour and our ship Atlantis. Thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to such a fitting end. God bless The United States of America."


title: STS-135

text: Hundreds turned out at Kennedy Space Center to witness the last landing of a Space Shuttle. An estimated 4,000 shuttle program workers also gathered to watch TV coverage at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. Inside Mission Control, team members shook hands, hugged and took pictures of each other experiencing the historical occasion.


title: STS-135

text: After working through the checklists to safely power down the shuttle, the crew egressed "Atlantis" into the Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV). Shortly after, the Houston Mission Control Center handed over "Atlantis" to the landing convoy at the KSC. The crew performed the traditional walk-around of the shuttle after walking down the stairs from the CTV. On the runway, they also met NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, KSC Center Director Robert Cabana, shuttle program manager John Shannon, launch director Mike Leinbach, "Atlantis" flow manager Angie Brewer, and other NASA officials. Charles Bolden and Commander Ferguson spoke briefly on the tarmac. Ferguson did note that the door to the Waste Collection System in the shuttle's mid-deck flew open during entry. After the speech, the crew got into the AstroVan for the ride to the crew quarters building where they spend the night before returning to Houston the next day.


title: STS-135

text: "Atlantis" was towed back to Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2) where a walk-around for NASA/Kennedy Space Center employees was held. Following the event, the shuttle was returned to OPF-2 vacated by Space Shuttle "Discovery" on 13 July where technicians processed "Atlantis" in preparation for the shuttle's retirement as a museum exhibit in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.


title: STS-135

text: On 21 July 2011, NASA hosted an employee appreciation event outside OPF-2, with "Atlantis" parked. Cheryl Hurst, the director of education and external relations at KSC, spoke first and invited Susan Lambert to lead the crowd with the American national anthem. A pledge of allegiance followed from KSC children, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and KSC Director Robert Cabana spoke to the shuttle program employees. During the event, Rita Wilcoxson and Patricia Stratton were presented with highest NASA honors: the Distinguished Service Medal and the Distinguished Public Service Medal respectively. The citations on both were identical, stating "for continuous outstanding leadership contributions provided to the nation's space shuttle program". A public "welcome home" ceremony was held for the crew at Houston's Ellington Field Hangar 990 on 22 July.


title: STS-135

text: NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.


title: STS-135

text: For STS-135, some of the wake-up calls were accompanied by greetings, from either the performing artist or NASA employees.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Shot is a collective term for small spheres or pellets, often made of lead. These were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and less commonly from riot guns and grenade launchers, although shot shells are available in many pistol calibers in a configuration called "birdshot", "rat-shot", or "snake shot". Lead shot is also used for a variety of other purposes such as filling cavities with dense material for weight/balance. Some versions may be plated with other metals. Lead shot was originally made by pouring molten lead through screens into water, forming what was known as "swan shot", and, later, more economically mass-produced at higher quality using a shot tower. The "Bliemeister method" has supplanted the shot tower method since the early 1960s.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Producing lead shot from a shot tower was pioneered in the late 18th century by William Watts of Bristol who adapted his house on Redcliffe Hill by adding a three-storey tower and digging a shaft under the house through the caves underneath to achieve the required drop. The process was patented in 1782. The process was later brought above ground through the building of shot towers.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Molten lead would be dropped from the top of the tower. Like most liquids, surface tension makes drops of molten lead become near-spherical as they fall. When the tower is high enough, the lead droplets will solidify while still dropping and thus will retain their spherical form. Water is usually placed at the bottom of the tower, causing the lead to be cooled immediately after dropping.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Roundness of manufactured shot produced from the shot tower process is graded by forcing the newly produced shot to roll accurately down inclined planes. Unround shot will naturally roll to the side, for collection. The unround shot was either re-processed in another attempt to make round shot using the shot tower again, or used for applications which did not require round shot (e.g., split shot for fishing).


title: Shot (pellet)

text: The hardness of lead shot is controlled through adding variable amounts of tin, antimony and arsenic, forming alloys. This also affects its melting point. Hardness is also controlled by the rate of cooling that is used in manufacturing lead shot.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: The "", named after inventor Louis W. Bliemeister of Los Angeles, California, (, dated April 11, 1961) is a process for making lead shot in small sizes from about #7 to about #9. In this process, molten lead is dripped from small orifices and dropped approximately into a hot liquid, where it is then rolled along an incline and then dropped another . The temperature of the liquid controls the cooling rate of the lead, while the surface tension of the liquid and the inclined surface(s) work together to bring the small droplets of lead into highly regular balls of lead in spherical form. The size of the lead shot that is produced is determined by the diameter of the orifice used to drip the lead, ranging from approximately for #9 lead shot to about for #6 or #7.0 shot, while also depending on the specific lead alloy that is used. The roundness of the lead shot depends on the angle of the inclined surfaces as well as the temperature of the liquid coolant. Various coolants have successfully been used, ranging from diesel fuel to antifreeze and water-soluble oil. After the lead shot cools, it is washed, then dried, and small amounts of graphite are finally added to prevent clumping of the lead shot. Lead shot larger than about #5 tends to clump badly when fed through tubes, even when graphite is used, whereas lead shot smaller than about #6 tends not to clump when fed through tubes when graphite is used.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Lead shot dropped quickly into liquid cooling baths when being produced from molten lead is known as "chilled lead shot", in contrast to "soft lead shot" which is produced by molten lead not being dropped as quickly into a liquid cooling bath. The process of rapidly chilling lead shot during its manufacturing process causes the shot to become harder than it would otherwise be if allowed to cool more slowly. Hence, chilled lead shot, being harder and less likely to deform during firing, is preferred by shotgunners for improving shot pattern densities at longer (> ) ranges, whereas soft lead shot, being softer and more likely to deform during firing, is preferred for improving shot pattern densities at very close (< ) ranges as the softer and now deformed shot scatters more quickly when fired. Soft lead shot is also more readily deformed during the firing process by the effects of chokes.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: The manufacture of non-lead shot differs from that of lead, with compression molding used to create some alloys.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Shot is available in many sizes for different applications. The size of numbered shot decreases as the number increases. In hunting, some sizes are traditionally used for certain game, or certain shooting situations, although there is overlap and subjective preference. The range at which game is typically encountered and the penetration needed to assure a clean kill must both be considered. Local hunting regulations may also specify a size range for certain game. Shot loses its velocity very quickly due to its low sectional density and ballistic coefficient (see external ballistics). Generally, larger shot carries farther, and does not spread out as much as smaller shot.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Buckshot is a shot formed to larger diameters so that it can be used against bigger game such as deer, moose or caribou. Sizes range in ascending order from size #B (0.17 in, 4.32 mm) to Tri-Ball. It is usually referred by the size, followed by "buck", e.g. "#000" is referred to as "triple-aught buck" in America or "triple o buck" in other English speaking countries. Buckshot is traditionally swaged (in high volume production) or cast (in small volume production). The Bliemeister method does not work for shot larger than #5 (0.12 in, 3.05 mm), and works progressively poorly for shot sizes larger than about #6.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Below is a chart with diameters per pellet and weight for idealized lead spheres for U.S. Standard Designations with a comparison to English shot sizes.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Lead shot is also often used as ballast in various situations, especially where a dense, pourable weight is required. Generally, small shot is best for these applications, as it can be poured more like a liquid. Completely round shot is not required. When used as a pourable/mouldable weight, the shot may be left loose, or mixed with a bonding agent such as epoxy to contain and stabilize the pellets after they are poured. Some applications are:


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Lead shot-related waterfowl poisonings were first documented in the US in the 1880s; by 1919, the spent lead pellets from waterfowl hunting was positively identified as a major source of deaths of bottom-feeding waterfowl. Once ingested, stomach acids and mechanical action cause the lead to break down and be absorbed into the body and bloodstream, resulting in death. "If a bird swallows only one pellet, it usually survives, although its immune system and fertility are likely to be affected. Even low concentrations of lead have a negative impact on energy storage, which affects the ability to prepare for migration." Upland game birds such as mourning doves, ring-necked pheasants, wild turkey, northern bobwhite quail and chukars can also ingest lead and thus be poisoned when they feed on seeds.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Lead from spent ammunition also impacts scavenging bird species such as vultures, ravens, eagles and other birds of prey. Foraging studies of the endangered Californian condor have shown that avian scavengers consume lead fragments in gut piles left in the field from harvested big game animals, as well as by the consumption of small game, or "pest animal," carcasses that have been shot with lead-core ammo, but not retrieved. Not all lead exposure in these circumstances leads to immediate mortality, but multiple sub-lethal exposures result in secondary poisoning impacts, which eventually lead to death. Among condors around the Grand Canyon, lead poisoning because of eating lead shot is the most frequently diagnosed cause of death.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: Depending on hunting laws, alternatives to lead shot are mandated for use by hunters in certain locations or when hunting migratory waterfowl and migratory birds or when hunting within U.S. federal waterfowl production areas, U.S. national wildlife refuges, or some state wildlife management areas. Lead shot is also banned within an eight-county area in California designated as the condor's range. As of 2011, thirty-five states prohibited lead shot use in such specially-specified areas when hunting. While hunting non-migratory or upland birds, as well as animals, in the United States, lead shot is generally approved, except within the specially-designated non-toxic shot pellet zones.


title: Shot (pellet)

text: In an effort to protect the condor, the use of projectiles containing lead has been banned for hunting deer, wild pig, elk, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, ground squirrels, and other non-game wildlife in areas of California designated as its range. The bald eagle has similarly been shown to be affected by lead originating from dead or wounded waterfowl—the requirement to protect this species was one of the biggest factors behind laws being introduced in 1991 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to ban lead shot in migratory waterfowl hunting.