NASA Shuttle Atlantis crew waves good-bye to the ship

The space shuttle Atlantis crew waves good-bye to the ship July 21, 2011 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after it landed several hours earlier, ending its 13-day mission and final flight for the space shuttle program.

Photo courtesy AFP.

Clearly visible is the scrotched underside of Shuttle Atlantis which endured tremendous heat generated by re0entry and protected the crew as it rode the wave of plasma back to Earth.

We can only imagine the smell of scotched metal and ceramics that fills the air around the shuttle craft and leaves a lasting memory of another safe landing in the hearts and minds of the crew and the ground staff.