A new era of space travel

With its undercarriage safely touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Atlantis - the last space shuttle of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - completed its final mission, signaling the end of the shuttle era.

In 30 years, the shuttle program created numerous firsts in science and technology and established a number of milestones in the history of manned spaceflight, although there were, too, unexpected tragedies that at one time undermined people's confidence. On Jan 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger broke up 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members. On Feb 1, 2003, shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, killing its crew of seven.

Considered the most advanced and versatile flying machine ever built, the shuttle was the epitome of human ingenuity, as well as a symbol of US superiority in manned spaceflight. However, extremely high costs, unreliability and budget cuts led to the end of the program.