Atlantis: Countdown to history

Atlantis, named for a research boat used for more than three decades by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in April 1985. It lifted off on its maiden voyage on Oct. 3, 1985. Atlantis was built in about half the time it took to finish building the Columbia space shuttle - and it was nearly 3.5 tons lighter.

A 1985 photo of Atlantis' first crew:mission Mission Specialist Robert L. Stewart (left, seated), Commander Karol J. Bobko and Pilot Ronald J. Grabe. On the back row, Mission Specialists David C. Hilmers (left) and Major Willliam A. Pailles, USAF.

Atlantis launched into space for the first time on Oct. 3, 1985 to deliver a communications satellite for the Department of Defense.

Atlantis also flew the first seven missions to dock with the Russian space station Mir. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. You can find out more about U.S.-Russian space missions by clicking here.

This view of space shuttle Atlantis was taken by two Mir-21 cosmonaut crew members on board Russia's Mir Space Station, during rendezvous and docking operations on March 23, 1996.

Part of a 10-month face-lift to the craft, Atlantis' cockpit is seen in the round, revealing the new full-color flat panel Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem, also known as the "glass cockpit."

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is seen in silhouette, left, as he shook hands with workers atop the Mobile Launch Platform as Atlantis rolled out of High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A for its final flight, Tuesday, May 31, 2011. The 3.4-mile trek, known as rollout, took about seven hours to complete.

Part of the Atlantis legacy will be its role as the on-orbit launch site for several noteworthy spacecraft, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo, as well as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

Atlantis is now perched on pad 39a at the at Kennedy Space Center after being rolled out in preparation for its final launch targeted for July 8th

Workers attach the umbilical to the space shuttle Atlantis sitting on Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A Wednesday, June 1, 2011 in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Here's a sight that the crew of Atlantis can look forward to experiencing: This night time view of the Earth and a starry sky shows the Space Shuttle Endeavour docked at the International Space Station on May 28, 2011.