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Space shuttle Atlantis lands

See larger NASA employee Sean Carter, right, watches with his family, son Jackson, in his legs, wife Jean, left, and daughter Addison, at Johnson Space Center in Houston as space shuttle Atlantis approaches Kennedy Space Center for landing Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis brings the space shuttle program to an end.

AP Photo/David J. Phillip


NASA employee Sean Carter, right, watches with his family, son Jackson, in his legs, wife Jean, left, and daughter Addison, at Johnson Space Center in Houston as space shuttle Atlantis approaches Kennedy Space Center for landing Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis brings the space shuttle program to an end.

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  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down on time at 5:50 a.m. after completing it's 13-day mission to the international Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down on time at 5:50 a.m. after completing its 13-day mission to the International Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down on time at 5:50 a.m. after completing it's 13-day mission to the international Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down on time at 5:50 a.m. after completing it's 13-day mission to the international Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The space shuttle Atlantis touches down on time at 5:50 a.m. after completing its 13-day mission to the International Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down on time at 5:50 a.m. after completing it's 13-day mission to the international Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down after completing it's 13-day mission to the International Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • CAPE CANAVERAL - The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down after completing it's 13-day mission to the International Space Station on the shuttle program's final flight.
  • Space shuttle Atlantis brings the shuttle program to a close Thursday morning with a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center.
  • Space shuttle Atlantis brings the shuttle program to a close Thursday morning with a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center.
  • Carolyn Krumrey, foreground right, takes a picture of Dennis Davidson, left, his wife Margaret, center, and their friend Monika Brauer, right, as they pose for a picture at Johnson Space Center in Houston after space shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center Thursday, July 21, 2011. Dennis Davidson and Krumrey are NASA employees. The landing of Atlantis brings the space shuttle program to an end.
  • Kenny Fisher, right, takes a photograph as his sister, Ashley, left, looks over his shoulder as they wait at Johnson Space Center in Houston to watch space shuttle Atlantis land at Kennedy Space Center Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis brings the space shuttle program to an end.
  • Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.
  • Johnson Space Center Director Michael Coats, left, kisses his wife Diane after watching space shuttle Atlantis land at Kennedy Space Center Thursday, July 21, 2011, in Houston. The landing of Atlantis brings the space shuttle program to an end.
  • The STS-135 crew stand next space shuttle Atlantis shortly after landing at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. From right to left: commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley, and mission specialists Sandra Mangus and Rex Walheim. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.
  • Johnson Space Center employees Jeremy Rea, right, and Shelley Stortz, left, hold hands as they watch space shuttle Atlantis land Thursday, July 21, 2011, in Houston. The landing of Atlantis brings the space shuttle program to an end.
  • NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, and pilot Doug Hurley speak while walking under space shuttle Atlantis after landing at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.
  • Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.
  • Space shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.
  • NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, and Bob Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center, share a light moment before Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.
  • Commander Chris Ferguson, right, shakes hands with pilot Doug Hurley after landing Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program. Third from right is mission specialist Sandra Mangus and Rex Walheim.
  • Commander Chris Ferguson, left, speaks with Bob Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center, after landing Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.
  • NASA employee Sean Carter, right, watches with his family, son Jackson, in his legs, wife Jean, left, and daughter Addison, at Johnson Space Center in Houston as space shuttle Atlantis approaches Kennedy Space Center for landing Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis brings the space shuttle program to an end.
  • Commander Chris Ferguson walks under space shuttle Atlantis after landing at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, July 21, 2011. The landing of Atlantis marks the end of NASA's 30 year space shuttle program.

Space shuttle Atlantis lands just before dawn at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, July 21, marking the end of the STS-135 mission, NASA's final mission of the space shuttle program.

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