Space Shuttle Releases Final Satellite Into Orbit

The space shuttle deployed its last satellite Wednesday morning (July 20), just one day before the shuttle Atlantis is set to land for the final time, with astronauts reciting a poem for the occasion. The release of a tiny satellite called PicoSat for the U.S. Department of Defense was the last in a long, long list of accomplishments for NASA's 30-year-old space shuttles. After Atlantis lands on Thursday (July 21), those ships will be retired for good. The small spacecraft is the 180th and final payload ever deployed from a space shuttle. More

(Source: Space.com - Jul 21)