Just before 6am Eastern time this morning, the space shuttle Atlantis landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center for the last time, marking the end of the space shuttle era.
Atlantis touched down at 5:57am and came to a complete stop about one minute later. Its arrival capped off a mission that lasted 12 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes, and 50 seconds and covered more than 5.2 million miles.
The shuttle's arrival was the 25th night landing during the 30-year shuttle program, the 78th landing at Kennedy Space Center, and the 133rd landing in shuttle history.
The shuttle crew—which consists of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim—left the International Space Station on Monday for the two-day journey home. At 4:49am this morning, the shuttle started its deorbital burn, which slowed Atlantis by 331 feet per second before it started its entry into Earth's atmosphere at 5:24am. It approached the space center from the west coast of Florida near Naples.
Atlantis arrived at the ISS stuffed with 9,403 pounds of spare parts, equipment, and other supplies—including 2,677 pounds of food that will sustain the ISS crew in the coming year. It departed with 5,700 pounds of supplies, including faulty parts, and a good amount of trash that had accumulated on the ISS.
"Gorgeous views backing away from ISS. Emotional departure. Start packing for home tomorrow. Busy, tired, smiling," Mission Specialist Walheim tweeted upon leaving the ISS.
NASA officials will have more details at a post-landing press conference, which will air live on NASA TV at 10am. But in a Thursday blog post, NASA administrator Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, said the Atlantis crew is "emblematic of the shuttle program. Skilled professionals from diverse backgrounds who propelled America to continued leadership in space with the shuttle's many successes. It is my great honor today to welcome them home."
"This final shuttle flight marks the end of an era, but today, we recommit ourselves to continuing human space flight and taking the necessary—and difficult—steps to ensure America's leadership in human spaceflight for years to come," Bolden wrote.
After today, NASA will retire its space shuttle fleet, eventually shipping them off to various museums across the country. The agency will then focus on deep-space exploration while trips to the ISS will be handled by international and, eventually, commercial crews. NASA's future has been in a state of flux lately, with budget restraints putting the future of some of its projects in jeopardy, including the James Webb telescope.