The US space exploration program has finally succeeded in adding one more golden feather to the hats of victory, on Friday (July, 24, 2011), as the NASA’s Atlantis took off from the Kennedy Space Centre, amidst all bad weather conditions, to sign off the final space shuttle mission. It is expected to dock on Sunday and tops the list in the 30 years of achievements of NASA, including the international Space Station.

The shuttle is on a 12 day mission with its crew of four astronauts-the commander Chris Ferguson, the pilot Doug Hurley, and the mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. Flying the robotic refuelling mission to test the tools needed to refuel the satellites in space, and delivering the Reafello multipurpose logistics module are two of the important tasks they have to complete. Bringing back the ammonia pump that recently failed to operate, for maintenance work is yet another task assigned.

The space shuttle Discovery capped a successful construction mission with a smooth landing in Florida on Wednesday, ending a 27-year flying career for NASA's most-traveled spaceship as the agency faces an uncertain future. Discovery touched down at 11:57 AM EST to wrap up a cargo run and construction mission at the International Space Station. The shuttle accumulated 365 days in orbit over 39 missions, racking up more than 148 million miles (238 million km).