A 12-day stay in orbit left the shuttle's shield intact

Space · Published 21 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: NASA's shuttle Atlantis recently completed a mission to the International Space Station. This video examines a late-mission inspection of the vehicle's thermal protection system to see how it fared against the hazards of space.

During the STS-132 mission, the shuttle Atlantis remained docked at the International Space Station for 12 days. A late-mission inspection of the thermal protection system revealed that the heat shield suffered no damage from space debris during its time in orbit.

The inspection confirmed the integrity of the shield, which is critical for the shuttle's survival during atmospheric reentry. The mission concluded with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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