That glitch waslater repairedĮndeavour'screw has an elaboratemission lined up with five spacewalks and complex robotic arm maneuvers to installnew hardware on the space station. Lightning and thunderstorms foiled three launch attempts overthis last week, while two earlier attempts in June were thwarted by a hydrogengas leak from a vent pipe on the shuttle's external fuel tank.
SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR FIRST LAUNCH SERIES
The eveningliftoff capped a series of setbacks that had waylaid Endeavour and its crewsince mid-June. After subsequent checks suggested thefuel cell was functioning within normal limits, NASA decided to go ahead withlaunch. A faulty cell is nota risk for launch, but could shorten the planned 16-day mission if it cannotprovide power for as long as planned. Missionmanagers cleared Endeavour to fly today after fears surfaced that one of theshuttle's power-generating fuel cells was malfunctioning. They are headed for the International Space Station about 220 miles (354km) above Earth to deliver vital spare equipment and a Japanese-builtexperiment porch to the orbital outpost. The flight to the west coast is expected in September and will take several days.The sevenastronauts aboard Endeavour are not going quite as far as the Apollo 11crew. When that work is completed, an aerodynamic tail cone will be bolted over the engines and Endeavour will be mounted atop NASA's shuttle carrier aircraft, a 747 jet modified to carry a shuttle on its back. The payload bay doors must be closed permanently, three replica space shuttle main engines will be installed and the hatch to the crew compartment will be closed. Several steps remain before Endeavour will be ready to leave Kennedy at the end of the summer.
Discovery is already in place at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, D.C.Įndeavour will be flown across the country to Los Angeles where it will be displayed at the California Science Center. When they finished, Endeavour's cockpit was lit only by work lights plugged in outside the shuttle.ĭiscovery and Atlantis went through the same steps earlier as they, like Endeavour, were readied for public display.
SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR FIRST LAUNCH OFFLINE
With that, some of the same people who ran endless checklists to make sure Endeavour was ready for space ran through a checklist in reverse to take key systems offline in careful order. "I'd like to dedicate this power down to those who are not so fortunate to be here today, to those who gave their blood, sweat and heart to the program," said Walter "Buddy" Mckenzie of United Space Alliance, or USA. Its crews posted notable accomplishments, including capturing and redeploying a stranded communications satellite during that first flight, flying the first construction mission of the International Space Station and conducting the landmark mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. NASA's youngest shuttle, Endeavour flew 25 times. The work was a milestone for the shuttle's retirement as crews at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue to make the spacecraft suitable for a museum career.Įndeavour's power down, which is the process controllers follow to stop the electricity flow into the shuttle, came almost 20 years to the day of the spacecraft's first launch on May 7, 1992. And it is with a heartfelt 'thank you' to the American people for the honor of launching this vehicle 135 times, to not only explore outer space, but to make life better on Earth. "It is with a great sense of pride that we recognize the contributions of this amazing Team over the last 30 years. "It is with a great sense of sadness that we say goodnight to Endeavour, and to the Space Shuttle Program as a whole today," said Mike Ciannilli, a NASA test director who stood at the integration console in Firing Room 3 during the procedure. Technicians working inside space shuttle Endeavour's flight deck and controllers stationed in the Launch Control Center turned the lights out on the last powered shuttle May 11 as they switched off Endeavour's displays and systems for the final time.
Image above: Endeavour's "glass cockpit" displays stand darkened following the spacecraft's final power down. Image above: Mike Ciannilli, leaning on console, looks over readouts from Endeavour as the spacecraft's electrical power was shut down for the last time. Image above: Walter "Buddy" Mckenzie surveys the flight deck of space shuttle Endeavour after overseeing the power down of the spacecraft.
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