Final Shuttle-Rocket Segments Delivered to NASA

Promontory, Utah-based Alliant Techsystems (ATK), one of the main contractors for the American space agency and the space-shuttle program, announced that it delivered the last shuttle-rocket segments to Florida this Thursday (May 27). The parts were delivered to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Cape Canaveral, which has been the home of the orbiter fleet for about three decades, Space reports.

The new shipment did not include parts that are currently scheduled to fly to space. That is to say, all of the segments on the train are considered to be emergency space parts. When Endeavor flies its last mission in November, its sister spacecraft, Atlantis, will also be prepared for take-off, in spite of having completed its last, officially assigned flight (STS-132). The shuttle will stand by in case the astronauts in orbit need help, ready to intervene and rescue them, if the need arises. The rocket segments are destined to go on Atlantis, if the rescue mission takes place.

“I think there was a little bit of melancholy knowing that these were the last segments to come in. They had a wonderful heritage, but on the other hand it kind of signifies the end of a very storied program for NASA,” George Diller, a spokesperson for the space agency, said. He added that, during the final leg of the train ride that delivered the segments, the cargo was joined by NASA and ATK officials, as well as by former astronauts. The shuttle launch director, Mike Leinbach, was also a part of the group that escorted the 149-foot (45-meter) boosters to the KSC.

“I think this is a very historic moment. It gives the team an opportunity to travel with the hardware they've worked so hard over the years to manufacture or manage. I think it was sort of a bittersweet occasion as we pulled into the train station. ATK is so proud of the legacy that we have in serving our space shuttle program. For us it was just a wonderful opportunity to reminisce and share stories about the legacy of the solid rocket boosters throughout the program,” Jessica Rye, an ATK spokeswoman, told Space in a phone interview.

Though these particular boosters are now planned to equip Atlantis in case of an emergency take-off, some US officials actually want to place them on the shuttle for an additional mission to the International Space Station (ISS). “This new mission, STS-135, would be flown with a minimum crew of four astronauts and would provide critical spare parts and logistics for long-term ISS operations. It will also guarantee U.S. access to space for a longer period of time, and thereby help to close the spaceflight gap until a new domestic capability is provided,” Florida senator Bill Nelson wrote in a letter to US President Barack Obama.