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Watch this epic mash-up video of every space shuttle ever launched — including Challenger

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The launch of Atlantis on the STS-135 mission, was the final flight of the Shuttle Program. NASA

While the Apollo missions are the most famous, the Space Transportation System (STS) shuttle program was the most productive in NASA's history. 

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From 1980 to 2011, NASA launched 135 missions. Over 350 astronauts deployed 180 payloads, including satellites and space probes. Crews sent the International Space Station and the Hubble telescope into orbit. 

Two shuttle flights ended in disaster: the Challenger on January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after launch; and the Columbia on February 1, 2003, when it was returning to Earth. 

Both tragedies shook the nation.

But the shuttle program didn't stop. More pioneers continued to take to the skies, making discoveries we could never make on the ground. 

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Adam Rutherford led a team at Nature that put together an incredible video documenting every space shuttle NASA ever launched. They combed through around 100 hours of footage that had been recorded on VHS tapes, which NASA sent them 15 at a time.

"We'd go through hours of footage to get a few seconds' worth," he told The Open Notebook, in an interview about the months-long project. 

The moving video they created will likely make you cry — with sorrow for the astronauts lost, but also with wonder that we could accomplish such greatness. 

Set aside eight minutes to watch it, and appreciate the incredible drive, genius, and bravery that went into the shuttle program. 

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As Commander Chris Ferguson said when the last shuttle mission, STS-135, rolled to a stop: "Although we got to take the ride, we sure hope that everybody who has ever worked on, or touched, or looked at, or envied or admired a space shuttle was able to take just a little part of the journey with us."

NASA Space
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