SAD LOVE QUOTES: Another one for the history books: Final re-entry of Atlantis captured on video as an orange, glowing ionisation trail across the pitch black sky

Monday, July 25, 2011

Another one for the history books: Final re-entry of Atlantis captured on video as an orange, glowing ionisation trail across the pitch black sky

Last updated at 11:39 AM on 25th July 2011

In the dead of night, a streak of luminous light can be seen soaring across the pitch black sky as a moment of history is captured on camera.

Videographer Noe Castillo captured the final re-entry of the Atlantis space shuttle - the final re-entry of any shuttle - from a beach in Cancun, Mexico.

Space enthusiast Castillo also captured a piece of history with the final re-entry of Endeavour on June 1.

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Breathtaking: Space enthusiast Noe Castillo captured a piece of history with the final re-entry of Endeavour taken from a beach on Cancun, Mexico

Body of light: Castillo caught Atlantis' orange-glowing ionisation trail as the shuttle glided through the upper layers of the atmosphere only minutes before landing at Space Kennedy Centre

Marvel: The space shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth and is seen re-entering the atmosphere, photographed by the crew of the International Space Station

He caught Atlantis' orange-glowing ionisation trail as the shuttle glided through the upper layers of the atmosphere only minutes before landing at Space Kennedy Centre at 5.56am on Wednesday.

The shuttle etched a thin line through the pre-dawn sky above the ocean leaving an illuminated trail in its wake.

The video was posted on YouTube at the same time as a never-before-seen image was released of the shuttle re-entering the earth's atmosphere, as seen from space.

Astronauts at the International Space Station captured the breathtaking image of Atlantis as it made its last ever voyage back to Earth.

Storage: The shuttle is put to bed for the last time at the Orbiter Processing Facility following its landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral yesterday

Perfect landing: As dawn breaks in Florida, the Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Centre as the drag chute is deployed for the final time

Bitter sweet: Atlantis crew Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim are among those who are now out of a job due to the closure of the space programme

The shuttle appears like a luminous body of light shooting across the atmosphere and is pictured just as it re-enters the earth's atmosphere - which appears like a yellow dome engulfing Earth.

Hours later, after 13 historic and momentous days, Atlantis was then towed into its hangar at the Orbiter Processing Facility several hours after it landed, ending not only its two-week mission, but a 30-year shuttle programme which has long been the pride of America.

The shuttle, which was paraded through the streets to thousands of cheering fans, was carefully locked away for the last time, signalling the end of an era.

It is the last time the shuttle will be seen by the public for a while after it made a perfect landing as dawn broke this morning, gliding down on to the tarmac at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral.

But after the celebration came the reality as 1,800 shuttle employees woke today without jobs, with a further 2,200 expected to go in the coming months - it was a bittersweet outcome for many who are attached to the programme.