KSC-2011-5481

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A United Space Alliance tugboat driver monitors the progress as Liberty Star, one of NASA’s solid rocket booster retrieval ships, tows a spent booster from space shuttle Atlantis’ final launch to Port Canaveral in Florida. The shuttle’s two solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered in the Atlantic Ocean after every launch by Freedom Star and Liberty Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff, and the retrieval ships are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. After the spent segments are processed, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be deserviced and stored, if needed. Atlantis began its final flight, STS-135, at 11:29 a.m. EDT on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett