NASA has flown 135 missions in five shuttle since 1981. The great shuttle era will end when Atlantis returns from a 12-day mission.
The shuttle program has been spotlights of many media outlets creating stories of hope, discovery, and tragedy.
As the debate will continue over the future of space missions, let us look back on some of the highlight moments in space since 2009. Click Start to begin the slideshow:
The space shuttle Discovery is prepared for launch as the Rotating Service Structure is rolled back at launch pad 39A, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Bride Finnegan attempts to put the ring on her bridegroom Fulmor aboard specially-equipped Boeing 727 over Gulf of Mexico after taking off from Titusville Florida
REUTERS/Phelan Ebenhack
Bridegroom Fulmor and his bride Finnegan kiss aboard a specially-equipped Boeing 727 over Gulf of Mexico after taking off from Titusville Florida
REUTERS/Phelan Ebenhack
The media gathers in a fog filled field as the sun rises at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
REUTERS/Scott Audette
The space shuttle Discovery STS-131 lifts off from launch pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida
REUTERS/Pierre Ducharme
Space Shuttle Discovery astronaut Clayton Anderson works near the temporary home for the Ammonia Tank Assembly
REUTERS/NASA TV
Hubble, NASA
Reuters/NASA
Hubble, NASA
Reuters/NASA
Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on a mission to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
REUTERS/Pierre Ducharme
The Russian Mini-Research Module-1, named Rassvet, is removed from the Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay on its way to a new home.
REUTERS/NASA TV
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is backdropped against the Earth prior to docking with the International Space Station
REUTERS/NASA/Handout
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on its debut launch from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida
REUTERS/Scott Audette
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida
REUTERS/Scott Audette
The International Space Station is seen in this view from the space shuttle Discovery
REUTERS/NASA/Handout
We Have Liftoff!
NASA
A person wearing a Mars suit Aouda.X prototype drives Mars rover Eurobot of the European Space Agency (ESA) during testing in the semi-desert of Rio Tinto
REUTERS/OeWF/Paul Santek/Hand
Argentine NASA team member tests space suit designed for Mars in Antarctica
REUTERS/Nasa/Handout
Argentine NASA team member tests space suit designed for Mars in Antarctica
REUTERS/Nasa/Handout
Space shuttle Endeavour is seen with the International Space Station in the foreground as the orbiter approaches for docking
REUTERS/NASA TV (SCI TECH)
NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff works outside the International Space Station
REUTERS/NASA/Handout
Members of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and International Space Station crew shake hands during hatch closing ceremonies.
REUTERS/NASA TV/Handout (SCI T
The Space Shuttle Endeavour is seen with the International Space Station in the foreground.
REUTERS/NASA TV/Handout
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida
REUTERS
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
REUTERS
Still image from NASA TV video shows space shuttle Endeavour Commander Kelly and ISS flight engineer Coleman participating in a news conference from aboard the station
REUTERS/NASA TV (SCI TECH)
Astronauts of STS-134 pose for a group photograph shortly after landing onboard Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
REUTERS/NASA/Bill Ingalls/Hand
The space shuttle Atlantis
Reuters
Atlantis' Maiden Launch
NASA