How long did the Space Shuttle program last ?
The Shuttle 's final mission consisted of just four astronauts — Christopher Ferguson ( Commander ) , Douglas Hurley ( Pilot ) , Sandra Magnus ( Mission Specialist 1 ) , and Rex Walheim ( Mission Specialist 2 ) ; they conducted the 135th and last space Shuttle mission on board " Atlantis " , which launched on July 8 , 2011 , and landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21 , 2011 , at 5:57 AM EDT ( 09:57 UTC ) .