Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle 104), the fourth orbiter to become operational, was named after the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. The ship was the first U.S. vessel to be used for oceanographic research. Such research was considered to be one of the last bastions of the sailing vessel as steam-and-diesel-powered vessels dominated the waterways. The research personnel worked in two onboard laboratories, examining water samples and marine life brought to the surface by two large winches from thousands of feet below the surface. The water samples taken at different depths varied in temperature, providing clues to the flow of ocean currents. The crew also used the first electronic sounding devices to map the ocean floor.
Atlantis made her maiden voyage on the STS-51J mission, in 1985. Jokingly nicknamed "The Penguin" due to her lengthy amount of time spent in her hangar rather than flying, the ship flew 33 missions. Her last flight was STS-135 mission which launched July 8th, 2011. Wheels Stop occurred on July 21st, 2011.
NASA initially planned to withdraw Atlantis from service in 2008, as the orbiter would have been due to undergo its third scheduled OMDP. However, because of the timescale of the final retirement of the shuttle fleet, this was deemed uneconomical. It was planned that Atlantis would be kept in near-flight condition to be used as a parts hulk for Discovery and Endeavour. However, with the significant planned flight schedule up to 2010, the decision was taken to extend the time between OMDPs, allowing Atlantis to be retained for operations. Atlantis had been swapped for one flight of each Discovery and Endeavour in the current flight manifest. Atlantis had completed what was meant to be its last flight, STS-132, prior to the end of the shuttle program, but the extension of the Shuttle program into 2011 led to Atlantis being selected for STS-135, the final Space Shuttle mission in July 2011.
By the end of her final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 mi (203,000,000 km) or more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Atlantis was decommissioned from flight and is now on display at Kennedy Space Center. She is displayed (suspended with payload bay doors open) to illustrate the on-orbit configuration. Her new mission is to educate and inspire.
Congrats to Sue and Ron for FTF!