Help Identify this Shuttle!

[kyle.mk.howard]

Hey guys,

So I picked up this print in a thrift store for two bucks awhile ago, I love it to death.

But that being said, the entire time I have owned it, I can't seem to identify which shuttle this is and what mission it was.

So, I figured, why not come to the community of quasi-experts? Can you guys help me identify this shuttle? I want to say it is Atlantis, but I could be completely wrong.

[Sarge82nd]

Well, i think it's american

[Dweller_Benthos]

Google image search is your friend:

http://earthsky.org/human-world/earthsky-22-the-final-flight-of-atlantis-and-the-end-of-an-era

[kyle.mk.howard]

Well, i think it's american

Obviously, it's not the Buran because it says NASA right on it. :|

[kyle.mk.howard]

Google image search is your friend:

http://earthsky.org/human-world/earthsky-22-the-final-flight-of-atlantis-and-the-end-of-an-era

YES! Thank you! From the final mission? Awesome.

[bigdad84]

That's a beautiful picture, and even better that it's from the final launch

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

I think I can barely make out an A on the front. So I'd guess that it is Atlantis.

Atlantis is my favorite of all the Shuttles by the way. Manly because it launched the Hubble Space Telescope.

And why do I like the Hubble Space Telescope? Well... because it shows people space is beautiful:

Beautiful...

[Dweller_Benthos]

YES! Thank you! From the final mission? Awesome.

Actually I think it might be the first mission:

http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2011/07/esa-tribute-to-space-shuttle.html

[kyle.mk.howard]

Can't find any info on what mission this launch was from, though. :/

[kyle.mk.howard]

Actually I think it might be the first mission:

http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2011/07/esa-tribute-to-space-shuttle.html

Yeah, I was thinking that too.. I found a website that has all the different modifications done to the shuttle and my photo looks consistent with the first iterations of the shuttle.. Here are the links if you want to take a look for yourself.

1st: http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/images/atlan1.gif

2nd: http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/images/atlan2.gif

3rd: http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/images/atlan3.gif

4th: http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/images/atlan4.gif

5th: http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/images/atlan5.gif

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah, it's from the first mission, I found it on the Nasa site, but there's no direct link to the page describing it:

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/531646main_51j-launch_full.jpg

But it was from here:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/multimedia/highlights_gallery.html

Go to image nine.

This is a cool one of Challenger:

Edited June 12, 2013 by Dweller_Benthos

[Snooze]

If it was from the first shuttle mission then the external fuel tank would be white. Then someone realized they could save a few hundred pounds (and an equivalent amount of money) by not painting the external tank. So, now, it's orange. Was orange.

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

As long as we're talking about space shuttles, who would've thought this is how they moved 'em around?

[tavert]

If it was from the first shuttle mission then the external fuel tank would be white. Then someone realized they could save a few hundred pounds (and an equivalent amount of money) by not painting the external tank. So, now, it's orange. Was orange.

Those were with Columbia. Atlantis wasn't finished until several years later.

[Odo]

I want to put that nebula (2nd picture) into a jar and keep it forever

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

I want to put that nebula (2nd picture) into a jar and keep it forever

Whoops, actually, that is NOT a satellite galaxy, sorry to misinform you, I'll do a little poking around to see what it is though.

Edit: Ok, I've got it, that picture is a close up of two collided galaxies that have merged to one. It is called the antennae galaxy and here is a picture of it that is significantly less stunning, but at least you know what your looking at.

Just google "Hubble Space Telescope pictures" and you'll get all sorts of beautiful pictures.

The one I use for my desktop is this one:

Its mostly just stars, so it doesn't block out my view of the names for my documents, plus its still a nice picture.

The only sad part is, my windows always block out my view of it.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Spaceisbeautifulul
Antennae galaxy is what it is.

[rdfox]

I can tell you for certain that it wasn't the final mission--I was there for that launch, and it was almost solid overcast that day. You wouldn't see that much blue sky for it...

[POTKC]

Atlantis did not launch the Hubble, it was Discovery. Discovery then went on to do the emergency fix during STS-120, and Atlantis was barely on standby as STS-322 (Which was never launched), a rescue mission for STS-120 in case anything went wrong.