Atlantis and four astronauts returned from the International Space Station in triumph on Thursday, bringing an end to Nasa's 30-year shuttle journey with one last, rousing touchdown that drew cheers and tears.
A record crowd of 2,000 gathered near the landing strip, thousands more packed Kennedy Space Centre and countless others watched from afar as Nasa's longest-running spaceflight programme came to a close.
"After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle's earned its place in history. And it's come to a final stop," commander Christopher Ferguson radioed after a ghostlike Atlantis glided through the twilight. "Job well done, America," replied Mission Control.
With the space shuttles retiring to museums, it will be another three to five years at best before Americans are launched again from US soil, as private companies gear up to seize the Earth-to-orbit-and-back baton from Nasa.
The long-term future for American space exploration is just as hazy, a huge concern for many at Nasa and all those losing their jobs because of the shuttle's end. Asteroids and Mars are the destinations of choice, yet Nasa has yet to settle on a rocket design to get astronauts there.
Thursday, though, belonged to Atlantis and its crew: Cdr Ferguson, co-pilot Douglas Hurley, Rex Walheim and Sandra Magnus, who completed a successful space station resupply mission. Atlantis touched down at 5.57am EDT (1057 BST), with "wheels stop" less than a minute later.
"The space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it's changed the way we view our universe," Cdr Ferguson radioed from Atlantis. "There's a lot of emotion today, but one thing's indisputable. America's not going to stop exploring. Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour, and our ship Atlantis, thank you for protecting us and bringing this programme to such a fitting end."
Atlantis was greeted with cheers, whistles and shouts from the astronauts' families and friends, as well as shuttle managers and Nasa brass, who had gathered near the runway.
Within an hour, Ferguson and his crew were out on the runway and swarmed by well-wishers.
"The things that we've done have set us up for exploration of the future," said Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden Jr, a former shuttle commander. "But I don't want to talk about that right now. I just want to salute this crew, welcome them home."
