KSC-2011-4467

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The sun rises above the horizon casting a shimmering glow on space shuttle Atlantis standing majestically on its seaside launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis' payload, the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM) has been delivered to the pad and one more milestone is met for Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are targeted to lift off on Atlantis July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis