CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians work to move the Hubble payload canister into the payload changeout room for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission. The canister arrived at the pad on Saturday evening, however, early Sunday morning technicians were unable to place the canister into the pad’s payload changeout room. Teflon pads on “shoes” attached to the outside of the payload canister that help the canister move along guide rails didn’t fit properly. The shoes were removed and several options were considered, including slightly shaving down the pads so the shoes will fit onto the rails. STS-125 is the fifth and final shuttle Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Atlantis’ launch is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett. KSC-08pd2758

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39A on NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Discovery is fully revealed after rollback of the rotating service structure, at far left. Seen above the golden external tank is the vent hood (known as the "beanie cap") at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, extending from the fixed service structure. Vapors are created as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boil off. The hood vents the gaseous oxygen vapors away from the space shuttle vehicle. Below it, also extending toward Discovery from the structure, is the orbiter access arm with the White Room at the end. The crew gains access into the orbiter through the White Room. At right is the 300,000-gallon water tank that provides water for sound suppression during liftoff. Rollback of the RSS started at 3:34 p.m. EDT and was complete at 4:20 p.m. The RSS provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. Rollback of the pad's RSS is one of the milestones in preparation for the launch of mission STS-120. Discovery is scheduled for liftoff at 11:38 a.m. EDT on Oct. 23. The mission will be the 23rd assembly flight to the International Space Station and the 34th flight for Discovery. Payload on the mission is the Italian-built U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The 14-day mission will install Harmony and move the P6 solar arrays to their permanent position and deploy them. Discovery is expected to complete its mission and return home at 4:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-07pd2925

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians work to move the Hubble payload canister into the payload changeout room for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission. The canister arrived at the pad on Saturday evening, however, early Sunday morning technicians were unable to place the canister into the pad’s payload changeout room. Teflon pads on “shoes” attached to the outside of the payload canister that help the canister move along guide rails didn’t fit properly. The shoes were removed and several options were considered, including slightly shaving down the pads so the shoes will fit onto the rails. STS-125 is the fifth and final shuttle Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Atlantis’ launch is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett. KSC-08pd2758

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians work to move the Hubble payload canister into the payload changeout room for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission. The canister arrived at the pad on Saturday evening, however, early Sunday morning technicians were unable to place the canister into the pad’s payload changeout room. Teflon pads on “shoes” attached to the outside of the payload canister that help the canister move along guide rails didn’t fit properly. The shoes were removed and several options were considered, including slightly shaving down the pads so the shoes will fit onto the rails. STS-125 is the fifth and final shuttle Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Atlantis’ launch is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.

Space Shuttle Program

The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.