![]() This was the 25th and final flight for Endeavour, which spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122,883,151 miles, wrapping up an illustrious spaceflight career. June 1, completing the STS-134 mission and marking the 24th nighttime landing in Space Shuttle Program history. Following a “go” for the deorbit burn from mission managers at Johnson Space Center in Houston and cooperating weather at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility, Endeavour made its final approach on the first opportunity.Įndeavour touched down on Runway 15 at 2:35 a.m. The payload bay doors were closed and the astronauts prepared for landing. May 29, the hatches between the space station and Endeavour closed for the last time as the shuttle’s crew members prepared for their return to Earth.Īfter a flyaround, Kelly took the controls for a test of the automated rendezvous and docking system called STORRM, which stands for Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation. Space Shuttle: Endeavour Launch Pad: 39B Launched: May 19, 1996, 6:30:00 a.m. Search All NASA Missions A to Z List of Missions Upcoming Launches and Landings. The complex 16-day mission, dedicated to station assembly and maintenance, included four spacewalks and the installation of AMS, which already is sending data about cosmic particles to researchers on Earth.Īt 7:23 a.m. NASA’s Psyche Mission on Track for Liftoff Next Month. The new Air and Space Center will be a fitting permanent home for Endeavour, one of just. As the centerpiece of Phase III, space shuttle Endeavour will be an awe-inspiring sight, towering 200 feet tall in vertical 'ready for launch' configuration. This was the first shuttle flight for Fincke, a veteran space flier, and Vittori, who is the last international astronaut to fly aboard a shuttle.Īfter a two-day race to catch up to the station, Endeavour docked and the hatches were opened uniting the Expedition 27 and shuttle crews. The Air and Space Center will feature three major multi-level galeriesAir, Space and Shuttle. Johnson, Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori with the European Space Agency rounded out the crew. Headed for the International Space Station, the agency’s youngest shuttle made its final flight delivering the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and critical supplies, including two communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional parts for the Dextre robot. As the shuttle’s shock cone pierced the clouds, it spread a widening ripple in the layer of ice crystals, revealing the black sky above.STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly and his crew of five blasted off Launch Pad 39A on space shuttle Endeavour from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, May 16, 2011, at 8:56 a.m. A minute into the flight, supersonic, Endeavour tore through that high cirrus layer like an incandescent needle through canvas. Endeavour lit up the Cape in a flickering, orange-yellow glow, even as the sound from the shuttle’s boosters smacked across the press site and shook the Vehicle Assembly Building across the road. I’ve seen night launches before, but never one this dramatic. Starting with Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has carried people into orbit repeatedly, launched. A high layer of cirrus was backlit by a nearly full Moon. The launch itself came on Friday night the 14th at 7:55 pm, EST, into a clear, calm night sky. This resupply and repair flight to the International Space Station (which I had visited with my STS-98 crew in 2001) took on an ambitious array of tasks, from installation of interior facilities for expansion of the ISS crew to 6, to a complicated repair of the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ), the ferris-wheel-like joint that allows the right side solar array to swivel like a paddle wheel to track the sun. Liz and I attended the launch of space shuttle mission STS-126 on November 14, 2008. ![]() Space Shuttle Endeavour - Success on STS-126 DecemPosted by skywalking1 in Space. ![]()
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