143-524: Space Shuttle Endeavour ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation : OV-105 ) is a retired orbiter from NASA 's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational Shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49 , in May 1992 and its 25th and final mission, STS-134 , in May 2011. STS-134 was expected to be the final mission of the Space Shuttle program, but with the authorization of STS-135 by
286-406: A flare stack at a safe distance away from the pad. A similar leak situation was seen during the first launch attempt of STS-119 . NASA managers met on June 14, 2009, and June 15, 2009, and evaluated the leak, discussed steps that had to be taken, and set a new launch date of June 17, 2009, at 05:40 EDT. A second launch attempt was made on June 17, 2009, for which NASA moved the planned launch of
429-459: A 1.3-inch-thick (33 mm) optical pane, and an external thermal pane. The windows were tinted with the same ink used to make American banknotes . The Space Shuttle orbiter had three sets of landing gear which emerged downwards through doors in the heat shield. As a weight-saving measure, the gear could not be retracted once deployed. Since any premature extension of the landing gear would very likely have been catastrophic (as it opened through
572-629: A 2005–2006 refit of Endeavour included: Endeavour flew its final mission, STS-134, to the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2011. After the conclusion of STS-134, Endeavour was formally decommissioned. STS-134 was intended to launch in late 2010, but on July 1 NASA released a statement saying the Endeavour mission was rescheduled for February 27, 2011. "The target dates were adjusted because critical payload hardware for STS-133 will not be ready in time to support
715-488: A Ku-Band Space-to-Ground antenna, a pump module for the coolant system and a drive unit for the station's robotic arm's mobile transporter. A planned installation of a camera on the Japanese Experiment Facility was postponed to a future EVA for want of time. Meanwhile, the malfunctioning toilet was set right with the replacement of internal parts and cleared for normal use after tests. In one of
858-579: A camera on the Japanese experiment facility. The fourth spacewalk, by Cassidy and Marshburn, involved replacement of the final four of the six batteries on P6 truss integrated electronics assembly. After berthing the old batteries in the ICC-VLD, the cargo pallet was returned to the Endeavour ' s payload bay by the shuttle's robotic arm. The elevated levels of CO 2 in Cassidy's suit during EVA 3
1001-746: A few of the tanks from Endeavour for reuse as storage containers for potable water on the International Space Station. On May 28, 2015, NASA donated the ET-94 external tank , the last mission-ready one in existence as all others were destroyed during launch. On April 12, 2016, the tank was transported by barge from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans , Louisiana , across the Panama Canal , and
1144-452: A full launch dress rehearsal. The Flight Readiness Review (FRR), a meeting during which NASA managers assess mission preparations and officially set the launch date, concluded on June 3, 2009. For the first time, live status updates about the FRR were published periodically during the meeting via NASA's Twitter stream. The launch countdown began June 10, 2009, but on June 13, 2009, as tanking
1287-688: A modified Boeing 747 airliner called the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and released for a series of atmospheric test flights and landings. Enterprise was partially disassembled and retired after completion of critical testing. The remaining orbiters were fully operational spacecraft, and were launched vertically as part of the Space Shuttle stack. Columbia was the first space-worthy orbiter; it made its inaugural flight in 1981. Challenger , Discovery , and Atlantis followed in 1983, 1984, and 1985 respectively. In 1986, Challenger
1430-476: A modified marking scheme for the shuttle fleet that would be matched by Discovery , Atlantis and Endeavour . The letters "USA" in black above an American flag were displayed on the left wing, with the NASA "worm" logotype in gray centered above the name of the orbiter in black on the right wing. Also, the name of the orbiter was inscribed not on the payload bay doors, but on the forward fuselage just below and behind
1573-614: A name "easily understood in the context of space"; entries included an essay about the name, the story behind it and why it was appropriate for a NASA shuttle, and the project that supported the name. Amongst the entries, Endeavour was suggested by one-third of the participating schools, with President George H.W. Bush eventually selecting it on the advice of the NASA Administrator, Richard Truly . The national winners were Senatobia Middle School in Senatobia, Mississippi , in
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#17327723871541716-560: A nod to its 25 space missions during its career. On October 30, 2012, the Space Shuttle Endeavour was opened to the public. The shuttle was display inside the temporary Samuel Oschin Pavilion, where guests offered to not only walk around Endeavour, but also under it, as the vehicle was displayed in the horizontal atop four friction-pendulum seismic isolators to protect it from earthquakes. The shuttle remained inside
1859-694: A suburb of Montreal, where it was to be placed on display. In a Canadian poll on which science or aerospace museum should be selected to display the Canadarm, originally built by SPAR Aerospace , the Canadian Space Agency's headquarters placed third to last with only 35 out of 638 votes. Endeavour ' s Canadarm has since gone on permanent display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa . In August 2015, NASA engineers removed
2002-472: A variety of equipment and spare components for the station. The carrier contained six new batteries for installation on the P6 truss , that was installed during two of the mission's spacewalks, as well as a spare space-to-ground antenna and a spare linear drive unit and pump module which was stored on an external stowage platform on the station's truss during one of the spacewalks. Two satellites were also carried by
2145-554: Is 60 ft (18 m) by 15 ft (4.6 m), and could transport 24,400 kg (53,800 lb) to 204 km (127 mi), or 12,500 kg (27,600 lb) to the ISS at 407 km (253 mi). The most massive payload launched by the Space Shuttle was the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999 at 50,162 lb (22,753 kg), including its Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and support equipment. The Shuttle
2288-406: Is a new building that is under construction, will serve as Endeavour's new permanent home. The Space Shuttle will be in a 20-story-tall display mounted on with the ET-94 tank, and solid rocket boosters, as it looks like its were about to make one more flight. Once finished, it will be the only Space Shuttle mounted vertically in launch position . Originally slated to open in 2015, construction on
2431-584: Is a part of Kibō that will allow astronauts to perform science experiments that are exposed to the vacuum of space. The exposed section is similar to the logistics module on the Kibō laboratory, but is not pressurized. Once its payloads were transferred to the JEM EF, the ELM-ES was returned to the payload bay. Also inside the payload bay was an Integrated Cargo Carrier -Vertical Light Deployable (ICC-VLD), containing
2574-687: Is named after the British HMS Endeavour , the ship which took Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery (1768–1771). This is why the name is spelled in the British English manner, rather than the American English ("Endeavor"). This has caused confusion, including when NASA itself misspelled a sign on the launch pad in 2007. The Space Shuttle carried a piece of the original wood from Cook's ship inside
2717-554: Is not yet announced. Following their May 30, 2020, launch on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 vehicle, the crew announced in orbit that they had named their spacecraft Endeavour . Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley said the name has a dual meaning: first, after the "incredible endeavor" put forth by SpaceX and NASA after the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet in 2011 ; and second, because both Hurley and Behnken each flew their first flight aboard
2860-431: Is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle , a partially reusable orbital spacecraft system that was part of the discontinued Space Shuttle program . Operated from 1981 to 2011 by NASA , the U.S. space agency, this vehicle could carry astronauts and payloads into low Earth orbit , perform in-space operations, then re-enter the atmosphere and land as a glider , returning its crew and any on-board payload to
3003-671: The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) for the shuttle's return to flight following the loss of Columbia during reentry on February 1, 2003. The STS-118 mission, Endeavour ' s first since the refit, included astronaut Barbara Morgan , formerly assigned to the Teacher in Space project , and later a member of the Astronaut Corps from 1998 to 2008, as part of the crew. Morgan
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#17327723871543146-1070: The Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois but was later transferred to the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma . The Motion Base Simulator was transferred to the Texas A&;M Aerospace Engineering Department in College Station, Texas , and the Guidance and Navigation Simulator went to the Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum in Starke, Florida . NASA also made approximately 7,000 TPS tiles available to schools and universities. Data from General characteristics Performance The cargo bay
3289-587: The Harmony module and the hatch was opened after leak checks. As part of the crew swap, station crew member Koichi Wakata was replaced with Tim Kopra. The two astronauts specially fitted seatliners were interchanged. As part of preparation for EVA 1, astronauts Wolf and Kopra camped out in the Quest airlock. A quick review of the RPM imagery showed no serious concerns beyond two instances of coating loss. Further analysis of
3432-722: The Kennedy Space Center on September 19, 2012, heading to the Los Angeles International Airport , with some refueling stops in Ellington Field and Edwards Air Force Base . After low level flyovers above NASA and civic landmarks across the country and in California, it was delivered to LAX on September 21. It was then hoisted off the aircraft and placed inside a United Airlines hangar to prepare for its transportation through
3575-531: The LAFD and LACoFD to treat heat exhaustion victims as Endeavour made its way through the city. Endeavour was sometimes parked for a few hours at certain places, such as Randy's Donuts , and The Forum where it was available for viewing. Endeavour 's biggest part of the journey was crossing the Manchester Boulevard Bridge over Interstate 405 . However, due to weight restrictions of
3718-544: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to a new date. On June 17, 2009, loading of the shuttle's external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen was delayed three hours due to poor weather around the launch site, but tanking began once the weather cleared. Approximately two hours after tanking began, engineers saw leak indications in the GUCP similar to those seen during the first launch attempt. The launch
3861-506: The Progress 34 cargo craft. After undocking Hurley began a fly around of the station giving the shuttle crew an opportunity to photograph the station's current configuration in all directions. Then a final separation burn was completed at 3:09 pm EDT. The OBSS was grappled by the shuttle's robotic arm and used to inspect Endeavour ' s thermal protection system for damage from orbital debris. The imagery will be analyzed to clear
4004-629: The United States Congress , Atlantis became the last shuttle to fly. The United States Congress approved the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger , which was destroyed in 1986 . NASA chose, on cost grounds, to build much of Endeavour from spare parts rather than refitting the Space Shuttle Enterprise , and used structural spares built during
4147-526: The Unity Module to the International Space Station . Endeavour ' s last Orbiter Major Modification period began in December 2003 and ended on October 6, 2005. During this time, Endeavour received major hardware upgrades, including a new, multi-functional, electronic display system, often referred to as a glass cockpit , and an advanced GPS receiver, along with safety upgrades recommended by
4290-660: The University of Texas at Austin . After release, the two picosatellites remained attached for two orbits to collect GPS data, and separated during the third orbit. A second satellite, the Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment (ANDE-2), is part of a United States Department of Defense project flown by the Naval Research Laboratory to provide high-quality satellites, and will measure the density and composition of
4433-631: The low Earth orbit atmosphere while being tracked from the ground, to better predict the movement and decay of objects in orbit. ANDE-2 consists of two spherical microsatellites , ANDE Active spacecraft (Castor) and the ANDE Passive spacecraft (Pollux), and will be tracked by the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) network as well as the Space Surveillance Network (SSN). One of
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4576-520: The 4.1 ton facility back. The facility was then successfully latched on to the Experiment Module. As part of the EVA, the spacewalkers successfully deployed the port Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Attach System (UCCAS), which could not be deployed during STS-119 . During the prior mission, the deployment failed due to a jamming caused by a stuck detent pin. Engineers designed a custom tool to force
4719-579: The American flag above the orbiter's name, left-justified rather than centered, on the right wing. The three surviving flight vehicles, Discovery , Atlantis and Endeavour , still bear these markings as museum displays. Enterprise became the property of the Smithsonian Institution in 1985 and was no longer under NASA's control when these changes were made, hence the prototype orbiter still has its 1983 markings and still has its name on
4862-565: The CO 2 levels in Cassidy's suit showed an upward trend. Even though it never exceeded the safety limits, the EVA was called off with both astronauts returning into the station. This left one old battery in a temporary flexible stowage position. The rest of the batteries will be installed in a future EVA with the rest of the EVAs being under replanning. The Kibō robotic arm was inaugurated operationally with it being used to install experiments on to
5005-505: The Dextre. Later both the spacewalkers installed video cameras on the front and back of the Japanese exposed facility which will be used in dockings of the Japanese cargo crafts and normal operation. The cameras flew up in launch configuration and now have been installed in an operational configuration, thus completing the JEF assembly. Meanwhile, due to Cassidy's METOX limitation, the deployment of
5148-573: The Earth. Six orbiters were built for flight: Enterprise , Columbia , Challenger , Discovery , Atlantis , and Endeavour . All were built in Palmdale, California , by the Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania -based Rockwell International company's North American Aircraft Operations branch. The first orbiter, Enterprise , made its maiden flight in 1977. An unpowered glider, it was carried by
5291-433: The ISS and paused at a distance of 200 metres (660 ft). Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli took a series of photographs and videos of the ISS with Endeavour docked. This was the second time a shuttle was photographed docked and the first time since 1996. Commander Mark Kelly was the last astronaut off Endeavour after the landing, and the crew stayed on the landing strip to sign autographs and pose for pictures. STS-134
5434-491: The International Space Station. STS-134 did not launch until May 16 at 08:56 EDT . Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center at 06:34 UTC on June 1, 2011, completing its final mission. It was the 25th night landing of a shuttle. Over its flight career, Endeavour flew 122,883,151 miles (197,761,262 km) and spent 299 days in space. During Endeavour's last mission, the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-20 departed from
5577-409: The Japanese exposed facility. The three experiments, transferred from the Japanese cargo pallet, consisted of Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image , Inter-orbit Communication System and Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload. As per the revised plan for EVA 4 astronauts Cassidy and Marshburn will replace the remaining four batteries on P6 and complete the already deferred installation of
5720-781: The Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility , Florida, except STS-3 at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Similar special clearances (no-fly zones) were also in effect at potential emergency landing sites, such as in Spain and in West Africa during all launches. When an orbiter landing was carried out at night, the runway was always strongly illuminated with light from floodlights and spotlights on
5863-454: The PAS was deferred to a future spacewalk. Instead some get ahead tasks were completed which included installation of handrails and a portable foot restraint. After a crew farewell Endeavour undocked from the ISS at 17:26 UTC. Unlike most other launches, hatch closure, which happened at 15:08 UTC, and undocking happened on the same day due to the extended delay in launching and the arrival of
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6006-488: The Quest airlock. The EVA was to transfer the spare components brought by the shuttle from the ICC-VLD to External Stowage Platform -3. The spares were handled by Wolf riding the station's robotic arm to the P3 truss stowage platform where he and Marshburn attached them for long-term storage. The purpose of the spares was to provide redundancy to the station in the period following the shuttle's retirement. The spares unloaded include
6149-804: The STS-127 mission was to deliver and install the final two components of the Japanese Experiment Module : the Exposed Facility (JEM EF), and the Exposed Section of the Experiment Logistics Module (ELM-ES). When Endeavour docked with the ISS on this mission in July 2009, it set a record for the most humans in space at the same time in the same vehicle, the first time thirteen people have been at
6292-932: The Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center , replacing Enterprise which was moved to the Intrepid Museum in New York City . Endeavour went to the California Science Center in Los Angeles arriving on October 14, 2012. Atlantis went to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island on November 2, 2012. Hundreds of other shuttle artifacts will be put on display at various other museums and educational institutions around
6435-416: The Space Shuttle was then moved into its position, thus completing the stack. Once all components are mounted into place, construction on the building continues, as it will be built a complex diagrid structure around it. Construction work on the building is scheduled to be completed in mid-2025. It will take several more years to install the artifacts and exhibits inside the building. An official grand opening
6578-451: The Space Shuttle. NASA scrubbed Endeavour ' July 12, 2009, launch attempt at T-minus 9 minutes and holding due to Cumulus clouds and lightning near the launch pad. During the final Go/No-Go polls, Mission Control in Houston declared a "No-Go" due to unacceptable weather forecast for a possible Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) abort, and planned for emergency scenarios when one or more engines shut down early leaving insufficient energy to reach
6721-406: The Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites. Similarly, during the July 13, 2009, attempt, RTLS weather was also "no go." Meanwhile, shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters informed the launch director, Peter Nickolenko , that the launch pad weather had changed to RED as the Phase-1 Lightning warning was issued for the Kennedy Space Center . The launch was scrubbed at T-minus 9 minutes and holding and
6864-461: The U.S. One of the Crew Compartment Trainer Flight and mid-deck training hardware is on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force , while the other is on display at the JSC. The Full Fuselage Trainer, which includes the payload bay and aft section but no wings, is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington . The Mission Simulation and Training Facility's Shuttle Mission Simulator Fixed Base Simulator originally went to
7007-623: The air, and covered in silicon borides and borosilicate glass , with blacker tiles covering the lower surface, and whiter tiles covering the tail, parts of the upper wing and crew cabin surfaces, and the outsides of the payload bay doors. The nose cap, nose landing gear doors, and leading edges were made of reinforced carbon–carbon , which is rayon impregnated with graphite -filled resins and coated in silicon carbide . The upper, white materials that were not in tiles were mostly made of either Nomex felt coated in silicon -rich elastomer or beta cloth , woven silica fibers covered in Teflon . This
7150-545: The attitude of the orbiter during most of its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere – until the air became dense enough that the rudder, elevons and body flap became effective. The orbiter's OMS and RCS fuel is monomethyl hydrazine (CH 3 NHNH 2 ), and the oxidizer is dinitrogen tetroxide (N 2 O 4 ). This particular propellant combination is extremely reactive and spontaneously ignites on contact (hypergolic) with each other. This chemical reaction (4CH 3 NHNH 2 + 5N 2 O 4 → 9N 2 + 4CO 2 + 12H 2 O) occurs within
7293-417: The bridge, the shuttle was moved from the robotic transporters to a lighter non-powered dolly and was towed across the bridge by an unmodified Toyota Tundra . Once it had completely crossed the bridge, the shuttle was then returned to the robotic transporters to continue its course. Toyota used the footage of Endeavour crossing the bridge in a commercial for the 2013 Super Bowl , and the Tundra used to pull
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#17327723871547436-434: The cache of structural spares that were produced as part of the construction of Discovery and Atlantis earmarked for assembly into the new orbiter. Assembly was completed in July 1990, and the new orbiter was rolled out in April 1991. As part of the process, NASA ran a national competition for schools to name the new orbiter—the criteria included a requirement that it be named after an exploratory or research vessel, with
7579-456: The cockpit windows. This would make the name visible when the orbiter was photographed in orbit with the doors open. Challenger also had black tiles on the tip of its vertical stabilizer much like Columbia , which the other orbiters lacked. In 1983, Enterprise had its wing markings changed to match Challenger , and the NASA "worm" logotype on the aft end of the payload bay doors was changed from gray to black. Some black markings were added to
7722-442: The cockpit. The name also honored Endeavour , the command module of Apollo 15 , which was also named for Cook's ship. On May 30, 2020, Dragon 2 capsule C206 was named Endeavour during the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission by astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in honor of the shuttle, on which both astronauts took their first flights ( STS-127 and STS-123 respectively). On its first mission, it captured and redeployed
7865-426: The commercial SpaceX Dragon re-usable cargo carrier to send supplies to the ISS during the post-shuttle era. The Dragon spacecraft made its successful maiden flight in December 2010. The mission marked: Endeavour served as the STS-400 rescue vehicle for STS-125 , and was prepared for a possible liftoff from Launch Pad 39B on May 15, 2009, four days after the launch of STS-125. After Atlantis performed
8008-435: The construction of Discovery and Atlantis in its assembly. The space shuttle will soon be on display in the upcoming Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center . Following the loss of Challenger in 1986, NASA was authorized to begin the procurement process for a replacement orbiter. A major refit of the prototype orbiter Enterprise was looked at and rejected on cost grounds, with instead
8151-478: The crew of both the station and the shuttle held a joint news conference. Meanwhile, the malfunctioning American CO 2 removal system has been transitioned to manual mode in order to keep it running. Cassidy and Marshburn started EVA 5 at 11:33 UTC when they switched their suit power to internal battery. For this spacewalk, the CO 2 absorbent system in the suits were changed from Lithium Hydroxide to METOX due to problems with Cassidy's usage. Cassidy completed
8294-481: The damage not enough to cause concern over reentry. The shuttle landed at Kennedy Space Center 16 days later at 10:48 EDT on July 31, 2009. Christopher Cassidy was the 500th person to fly in space . Endeavour carried a wide variety of equipment and cargo in the payload bay, with the largest item being the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM EF), and the Kibō Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section (ELM-ES). The exposed facility
8437-481: The deployment of a starboard side cargo carrier, was postponed for want of time. A fuel cell issue found before launch was analyzed, though the cell continued to function as expected with no impact to the mission. The installation of the Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable (ICC-VLD) on the port side of the station was successfully completed with the use of both the shuttle and station robotic arms. The cargo pallet, containing spares and fresh batteries for
8580-413: The direction of their thrust. Hence, they steered the entire Space Shuttle, as well as providing rocket thrust towards orbit. The aft fuselage also housed three auxiliary power units (APU). The APUs chemically converted hydrazine fuel from a liquid state to a gas state , powering a hydraulic pump which supplied pressure for all of the hydraulic system, including the hydraulic sub-system that pointed
8723-476: The elementary division and Tallulah Falls School in Tallulah Falls, Georgia , in the upper school division. They were honored at several ceremonies in Washington, D.C., including a White House ceremony where President Bush presented awards to each school. Endeavour was delivered by Rockwell International Space Transportation Systems Division in May 1991 and first launched a year later, in May 1992, on STS-49 . Endeavour cost $ 1.7 billion to build. The orbiter
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#17327723871548866-417: The end of the mission. The hydrogen and oxygen for the fuel cells was kept in pairs of cryogenic storage tanks in the mid-fuselage underneath the payload bay liner, and a variable number of such tank sets could be installed (up to five pairs) depending on the requirements of the mission. The three fuel cells were capable of generating 21 kilowatts of power continuously (or a 15-minute peak of 36 kilowatts) with
9009-452: The engine's combustion chamber. The reaction products are then expanded and accelerated in the engine bell to provide thrust. Due to their hypergolic characteristics these two chemicals are easily started and restarted without an ignition source, which makes them ideal for spacecraft maneuvering systems. During the early design process of the orbiter, the forward RCS thrusters were to be hidden underneath retractable doors, which would open once
9152-452: The external tank taken when jettisoning showed loss of foam in the intertank ribbing. The chairman of the Mission Management Team was not concerned and felt that the Space Shuttle would be cleared for re-entry on its return voyage—which it was a few days later. The payload doors were opened after reaching orbit followed by deployment of the K u band antenna and activation of the shuttle's mechanical arm . The thermal protection system
9295-455: The external tank. Two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) thrusters were mounted in two separate removable pods on the orbiter's aft fuselage, located between the SSMEs and the vertical stabilizer. The OMS engines provided significant thrust for course orbital maneuvers , including insertion, circularization, transfer, rendezvous, deorbit, abort to orbit, and to abort once around . At lift-off, two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) were used to take
9438-486: The fault that delayed the Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-119 in March 2009. Since a launch date of June 18, 2009, would have conflicted with the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), NASA managers discussed the scheduling conflict with both the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project and the Air Force Eastern Range , which provides tracking support for rockets launched from Florida. A decision
9581-417: The federally owned Plant 42 complex. Each NASA Space Shuttle designation was composed of a prefix and suffix separated by a dash. The prefix for operational shuttles is OV, for Orbiter Vehicle . The suffix is composed of two parts: the series and the vehicle number; "0" was used for non-flight ready orbiters, and "1" was used for flight-ready orbiters. The vehicle number is sequentially assigned within
9724-465: The final Shuttle flight, STS-135 , on July 21, 2011. In addition to their crews and payloads, the reusable orbiter carried most of the Space Shuttle System 's liquid-propellant rocket system, but both the liquid hydrogen fuel and the liquid oxygen oxidizer for its three main rocket engines were fed from an external cryogenic propellant tank . Additionally, two reusable solid rocket boosters (SRBs) provided additional thrust for approximately
9867-524: The first two minutes of launch. The orbiters themselves did carry hypergolic propellants for their Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters and Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines. About the size of a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 , the Space Shuttle orbiter resembled an airplane in its design, with a standard-looking fuselage and two double delta wings, both swept wings at an angle of 81 degrees at their inner leading edges and 45 degrees at their outer leading edges. The vertical stabilizer of
10010-528: The first was ultimately utilized. Five spacewalks were conducted during STS-127. NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program , and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15 . Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities. [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of
10153-410: The five Great Lakes , a resin statue of a water droplet for the One Drop Foundation , and a copy of Beethoven 's Fifth Symphony for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra , among other mementos. The docking module was also mounted with the DragonEye 3D Flash LIDAR ranging system manufactured by Advanced Scientific Concepts, Inc. The module was launched to test the docking system which will be used by
10296-560: The flight phases of launching, orbiting , and re-entry. This system also executed any needed orbital maneuvers, including all changes in the orbit's altitude, orbital plane , and eccentricity . These were all operations that required more thrust and impulse than mere attitude control. The forward rockets of the Reaction Control System, located near the nose of the Space Shuttle orbiter, included 14 primary and two vernier RCS rockets. The aft RCS engines were located in
10439-475: The floor of the mid-deck and contained air and water tanks in addition to the carbon dioxide scrubbing system. Three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) were mounted on the orbiter's aft fuselage in the pattern of an equilateral triangle . These three liquid-fueled engines could be swiveled 10.5 degrees vertically and 8.5 degrees horizontally during the rocket-powered ascent of the orbiter in order to change
10582-537: The ground, making landing lights on the orbiter unnecessary and also an unneeded spaceflight weight load. A total of 26 landings took place at night, the first being STS-8 in September 1983. The typeface used on the Space Shuttle orbiter was Helvetica . The prototype orbiter Enterprise originally had a flag of the United States on the upper surface of the left wing and the letters "USA" in black on
10725-513: The heat shield layers), the landing gear could only be lowered by manual controls, and not by any automatic system. Similarly, since the Shuttle landed at high speed and could not abort its landing attempt, the gear had to deploy reliably on the first try every time. The gear were unlocked and deployed by triple redundant hydraulics, with the gear doors actuated by mechanical linkages to the gear strut. If all three hydraulic systems failed to release
10868-447: The imagery will be done. A boost of the station was completed with the shuttle's vernier thrusters to avoid a piece of space debris. The SRBs were retrieved and their camera imagery is expected to give more detail on the ET foam shedding. EVA 1 started with astronauts Dave Wolf and Tim Kopra switching their spacesuit power to internal battery at 16:19 UTC. Despite a communication problem with
11011-472: The landing gear uplocks within one second of the release command, pyrotechnic charges automatically cut the lock hooks and a set of springs deployed the gear. During landing, the Shuttle nose wheel could be steered with the rudder pedals in the cockpit. During the construction of Space Shuttle Endeavour , an improved nose wheel steering system was developed which allowed easier and more effective nose wheel steering. After Endeavour 's roll-out,
11154-503: The late inspection and was cleared for re-entry, Endeavour was officially released from stand-by status on May 21, 2009, and preparations for STS-127 were initiated. Endeavour moved from Launch Pad 39B to 39A on May 31, 2009, in preparation for STS-127. The crew of STS-127 arrived at Kennedy Space Center on June 2, 2009, for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) that concluded with
11297-452: The leak. The test was declared a success with no leaks detected on the GUCP. The mission was announced to be targeting a July 11, 2009, launch. On the evening of July 10, 2009, the launch pad region was hit by eleven strikes of lightning, which pushed back the July 11, 2009, launch time by at least 24 hours. Two of the strikes were strong enough to trigger an evaluation by NASA engineers. The inspections revealed that no damage had been done to
11440-483: The more relaxed days, the Japanese logistics carrier was attached to the Japanese Exposed Facility. The cargo pallet was unberthed from the shuttle by the shuttle's robotic arm and handed to the station's robotic arm which then soft fixed it temporarily to the facility. After the experiments, containing an X-ray astronomy payload, a space environment monitor and a communications system, are installed
11583-453: The move. The power had to be turned off and power carrying poles had to be removed temporarily as the orbiter crept along the streets. News crews lined the streets along the path with visible news personalities in the news trucks. Police escorts and other security personnel, among them including the LAPD , LASD , CHP , and NASA officials, controlled the large crowds gathered, with support from
11726-636: The navies of the world (though the test orbiter Enterprise , originally to be named " Constitution ", had its name changed after the Star Trek starship , itself named after a series of US Navy ships ), and they were also numbered using the NASA Orbiter Vehicle designation system. Three of the names had also been given to Apollo spacecraft between 1969 and 1972: Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia , Apollo 15 Command Module Endeavour , and Apollo 17 Lunar Module Challenger . While all of
11869-615: The new building started on June 1, 2022. Meanwhile, the ET-94 tank underwent some restoration after being used to analyze the foam on its sister tank, ET-93, which was a factor during the STS-107 mission, which resulted in the Columbia disaster . On July 20, 2023, the assembly of the stack began with the aft skirts (bottom segments of the rocket boosters) being precisely positioned on a concrete slab supported by six base isolators that will protect Endeavour from earthquakes. The motors for
12012-514: The nose, cockpit windows and vertical tail to more closely resemble the flight vehicles, but the name "Enterprise" remained on the payload bay doors as there was never any need to open them. Columbia had its name moved to the forward fuselage to match the other flight vehicles after STS-61-C , during the 1986–1988 hiatus when the shuttle fleet was grounded following the loss of Challenger , but retained its original wing markings until its last overhaul (after STS-93 ), and its unique black chines for
12155-489: The operational orbiters and test articles produced for use in the Shuttle program, there are also various mockup replicas on display throughout the United States: STS-127 STS-127 ( ISS assembly flight 2J/A ) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was the twenty-third flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour . The primary purpose of
12298-567: The orbiter consuming an average of about 14 kilowatts of that power (leaving 7 kilowatts for the payload). Additionally, the fuel cells provided potable water for the crew during the mission. The orbiter's computer system consisted of five identical IBM AP-101 avionics computers, which redundantly controlled the vehicle's on-board systems. The specialized HAL/S programming language was used for orbiter systems. The orbiters were protected by Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials (developed by Rockwell Space Systems ) inside and out, from
12441-422: The orbiter had a leading edge that was swept back at a 45-degree angle. There were four elevons mounted at the trailing edges of the delta wings, and the combination rudder and speed brake was attached at the trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer . These, along with a movable body flap located underneath the main engines, controlled the orbiter during later stages of reentry . The prime contractor for
12584-532: The orbiter reached space. These were omitted in favor of flush-mounted thrusters for fear that the RCS doors would remain stuck open and endanger the crew and orbiter during re-entry. The orbiter's flight deck or cockpit originally had 2,214 controls and displays, about three times as many as the Apollo command module . The crew cabin consisted of the flight deck, the mid-deck, and the utility area. The uppermost of these
12727-536: The orbiter was Rockwell International, which built the pressurized cabin, thermal protection, forward attitude control system, and forward and aft fuselage in its Downey, California factory, the payload bay doors in its Tulsa, Oklahoma factory, and the body flap in its Columbus, Ohio factory. Subcontractors included Convair in San Diego for the midsection, Fairchild Aircraft in Farmingdale, New York for
12870-407: The orbiter were also located on the mid-deck, as well as the airlock . The airlock had an additional hatch into the payload bay. This airlock allowed two or three astronauts, wearing their Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suits, to depressurize before a walk in space ( EVA ), and also to repressurize and re-enter the orbiter at the conclusion of the EVA. The utility area was located under
13013-406: The orbiter's outer surface to the payload bay. The TPS protected it from the cold soak of −121 °C (−186 °F) in space to the 1,649 °C (3,000 °F) heat of re-entry. The tile materials comprising much of the orbiter's outermost layer were mostly air held within near-pure silica fibers, which made it efficient at refractory insulation that absorbed and redirected heat back out into
13156-465: The orbiter, for deployment when the mission ended. The Dual Autonomous Global Positioning System On-Orbit Navigator Satellite, called DRAGONSAT, gathers data on autonomous spacecraft rendezvous and docking capabilities, and consists of two picosatellites , the AggieSat2, and PARADIGM (BEVO-1), which acquire GPS data from a device at NASA and send it to ground stations at Texas A&M University and
13299-651: The orbiters were externally practically identical, they had minor differences in their interiors. New equipment for the Orbiters was installed in the same order that they underwent maintenance work, and the newer orbiters were constructed by Rockwell International, under NASA supervision, with some more advanced, lighter in weight, structural elements. Thus, the newer orbiters ( Discovery , Atlantis and Endeavour ) had slightly more cargo capacity than Columbia or Challenger . The Space Shuttle orbiters were assembled at Rockwell's assembly facility in Palmdale, California , at
13442-423: The pallet will be returned to Earth by the shuttle. The spacewalk involving astronauts Wolf and Cassidy started at 14:32 UTC. As part of preparation for experiment installation on the Japanese external science deck, Cassidy removed the thermal covers off the experiment carrier. Meanwhile, Wolf removed obstructions, consisting of a steel handrail and an equipment installation socket, from the Harmony node to clear
13585-403: The payload bay doors. With the end of the Shuttle program, plans were made to place the three remaining Space Shuttle orbiters on permanent display. NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. announced the disposition location of the orbiters on April 12, 2011, the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight and the 30th anniversary of the first flight of Columbia . Discovery went to
13728-456: The pin to release, which was used to deploy the mechanism. Meanwhile, the shuttle managers announced that there would be no need for a focused inspection of the heat shield. The nose cap and wing leading-edge panels of the shuttle were cleared for entry as they were, but a reentry clearance was not given. Beyond one impact site having a gouge, the rest of the impacts were found to be mostly a loss of coating. The other activity scheduled for EVA 1,
13871-516: The previously planned 16 September launch," NASA said in a statement. With the Discovery launch moving to November, Endeavour mission "cannot fly as planned, so the next available launch window is in February 2011," NASA said, adding that the launch dates were subject to change. The launch was further postponed until April to avoid a scheduling conflict with a Russian supply vehicle heading for
14014-520: The reconfiguring of power channels in the Zenith 1 patch panel which are used for the control moment gyroscopes. Before the rewiring, two of the gyroscopes were fed by the same power channel. Since a failure of the channel can knock down two gyros and put the station in a degraded position the reconfiguration was made necessary. This rewiring made the two gyros to operate from separate power channels. Meanwhile, Marshburn secured some multi-layered insulation on
14157-469: The remainder of its operational life. Beginning in STS-95 (1998), the flight vehicles' markings were modified to incorporate the NASA "meatball" insignia . The "worm" logotype, which the agency had phased out, was removed from the payload bay doors and the "meatball" insignia was added aft of the "United States" text on the lower aft fuselage. The "meatball" insignia was also displayed on the left wing, with
14300-513: The right wing. The name "Enterprise" in black was painted on the payload bay doors just above the forwardmost hinge and behind the crew module; on the aft end of the payload bay doors was the NASA "worm" logotype in gray. Underneath the rear of the payload bay doors on the side of the fuselage just above the wing was the text "United States" in black with a flag of the United States ahead of it. The first operational orbiter, Columbia , originally had
14443-534: The rocket boosters were installed on October 11, which was in storage at the Mojave Air and Space Port . The rocket boosters was fully assembled when the tops were added on December 5. On January 3, 2024, Endeavour was protected in a shrink wrap, likely to stay on until construction is complete. The ET-94 tank was then moved into its position in January 16 and was mounted to the rocket boosters. On January 30,
14586-431: The same markings as Enterprise , although the letters "USA" on the right wing were slightly larger and spaced farther apart. Columbia also had black tiles which Enterprise lacked on its forward RCS module, around the cockpit windows, and on its vertical stabilizer. Columbia also had distinctive black chines on the forward part of its upper wing surfaces, which none of the other orbiters had. Challenger established
14729-546: The satellites, Pollux, is running Arduino libraries, with its payload programmed and built by students. A set of experiments to be deployed on the ISS were carried by STS-127, including Dosimetry for Biological Experiments in Space (ESA), Validation of Procedures for Monitoring Crew Member Immune Function, the student-made Image Reversal in Space ( CSA / ISU ), Nutritional Status Assessment (NASA), NASA Biological Specimen Repository and Tomatosphere-II (CSA). The STS-127 Official Flight Kit (OFK) included water samples from each of
14872-545: The series, beginning with 1. Therefore, there can never be an OV-100 as it would read "Orbiter Vehicle Series 1 Vehicle 0". Many proposals to build a second generation of orbiters, externally compatible with the current system but internally new, refer to them as "OV-200" or "OV-2xx" in order to differentiate them from the "first generation", the OV-100s. This terminology is informal, and it is unlikely that any Shuttle-derived vehicle built will be given such designation. Challenger
15015-657: The shuttle Endeavour (Behnken on STS-123 , Hurley on STS-127 ) and wanted to name this new spacecraft after the one that took each of them into space. The shuttle appeared in the 2022 films Moonfall and Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe . A replica of a section of Endeavour is on exhibit outside the Discovery Cube Orange County , a science museum in Santa Ana, California . Orbiter Vehicle Designation The Space Shuttle orbiter
15158-420: The shuttle for reentry. Meanwhile, the foam loss on the external tank was initially attributed to substrate contamination ahead of the application of the foam. Later during the processing of STS-128 , voids in the foam was highlighted as a trigger for the shedding. The air trapped in the voids could have expanded due to the high temperatures generated during ascent thus breaking the foam. The crew checked out
15301-495: The shuttle was donated to the Science Center, where it became part of an exhibit on leverage. Having taken longer than expected, Endeavour reached the Science Center on October 14 at 7:30pm. Prior to its arrival, a building was constructed on the side of the museum to temporary house the Space Shuttle. The Space Shuttle's entire journey through the streets of Los Angeles was often dubbed as Mission 26: The Big Endeavour ,
15444-715: The shuttle's systems for the landing, and successfully deployed the DRAGONSat and ANDE-2 satellites. The shuttle was cleared for reentry, with the TPS imagery showing no concerns. The shuttle tracked two chances of landing at KSC on July 31, and could land no later due to its limited carbon dioxide -scrubbing LiOH supply. After a 16-day mission, Endeavour landed successfully at Kennedy Space Center at 10:48 EDT on July 31, 2009. The landing had to be undertaken before August 1, due to CO 2 -scrubbing lithium hydroxide limitations. There were two opportunities to land on July 31, of which
15587-423: The shuttle's wide wings between telephone poles, apartment buildings and other structures. Many street light standards and traffic signals were temporarily removed as the shuttle passed through. It was necessary to remove over 400 street trees as well, some of which were fairly old, leading to concern. However, the removed trees were replaced two-for-one by the Science Center, using part of the $ 200 million funding for
15730-497: The spacewalkers, the Japanese Exposed Facility was successfully installed on the Japanese Experiment Module by means of a complex series of steps involving the robotic arms of both the station and the shuttle. The JEF was first unberthed from the shuttle payload bay by the station arm, after which the shuttle arm took the load. The station arm was then moved to the worksite on Node-2 (Harmony), wherefrom it took
15873-481: The station 220 miles (350 km) above the Earth, following rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM) photography of Endeavour ' s thermal protection system by the Expedition 20 Crew. During this procedure, the shuttle flips over on its back to the station so that the station crew can capture high resolution imagery of the underside of the shuttle. The docking happened on the ISS's PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter) on
16016-431: The station at the same time. Together they represented all ISS program partners and tied the general record of thirteen people in space with the first such occurrence of 1995. The first launch attempt, on June 13, 2009, was scrubbed due to a gaseous hydrogen leak observed during tanking. The Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) on the external fuel tank experienced a potentially hazardous hydrogen gas leak similar to
16159-529: The station, was lifted out of the shuttle bay by the shuttle arm and handed off to the station's Canadarm2, which maneuvered it to its position. The pallet's contents will be set up in upcoming EVAs. A malfunction in a new toilet in the Destiny laboratory caused the crew to use the one in the Russian segment while attempts were made to identify the fault. Meanwhile, the shuttle was cleared for reentry. Astronauts Wolf and Marshburn began EVA 2 at 15:27 UTC out of
16302-499: The stranded Intelsat VI communications satellite. The first African-American woman astronaut, Mae Jemison , was launched into space on the mission STS-47 on September 12, 1992. Endeavour flew the first servicing mission STS-61 for the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. In 1997 it was withdrawn from service for eight months for a retrofit, including installation of a new airlock. In December 1998, it delivered
16445-421: The streets of Los Angeles. On October 11 at 11:30pm, Endeavour left the hangar on four self-propelled robotic transporters and the orbiter was slowly left the airport and was carefully transported through the streets of Los Angeles. The Space Shuttle's 12-mile (19 km) journey was meticulously measured and each move was carefully choreographed. In multiple locations, there were only inches of clearance for
16588-520: The system was installed on the other shuttles during their overhauls in the early 1990s. The Space Shuttle orbiter did not carry anti-collision lights , navigational lights , or landing lights , because the orbiter always landed in areas that had been specially cleared by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Air Force . The orbiter always landed at either Edwards Air Force Base , California or at
16731-514: The temporary pavilion until December 31, 2023. A companion exhibit inside the Science Center features images and artifacts that related the Space Shuttle program to California , where the orbiters were originally constructed. After its decommissioning, Endeavour ' s Canadarm (formally the 'Shuttle Remote Manipulator System') was removed in order to be sent to the Canadian Space Agency's John H. Chapman Space Centre in Longueuil , Quebec ,
16874-430: The three main liquid-fueled rocket engines, under computerized flight control . The hydraulic pressure generated was also used to control all of the orbiter's flight control surfaces (the elevons, rudder, speed brake, etc.), to deploy the landing gear of the orbiter, and to retract the umbilical hose connection doors located near the rear landing gear, which supplied the orbiter's SSMEs with liquid hydrogen and oxygen from
17017-597: The two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods at the rear of the orbiter, and these included 12 primary (PRCS) and two vernier (VRCS) engines in each pod. The PRCS system provided the pointing control of the Orbiter, and the VRCS was used for fine maneuvering during the rendezvous, docking, and undocking maneuvers with the International Space Station , or formerly with the Russian Mir space station . The RCS also controlled
17160-470: The vehicle to an altitude of roughly 140,000 feet. Electric power for the orbiter's subsystems was provided by a set of three hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells which produced 28 volt DC power and was also converted into 115 volt 400 Hz AC three-phase electric power (for systems that used AC power ). These provided power to the entire Shuttle stack (including the SRBs and ET) from T-minus 3m30s up through
17303-635: The vertical stabilizer, Grumman in Bethpage, New York for the wings, Marquardt Corporation in Van Nuys, California for the attitude control propulsion, Aerojet in Rancho Cordova, California for the orbital insertion and deorbit propulsion, McDonnell Douglas for the surrounding pods, and Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, Los Angeles for the launch and ascent propulsion. Final assembly
17446-485: The way for an upcoming Japanese automated resupply ship. The other task for EVA 3, involving replacement of four of the six batteries in the P6 truss, did not go as planned. Each 170 kg (375 lb) battery was to be removed and placed in a temporary stowage platform while a new one is taken from the ICC-VLD and fixed. The old ones will be returned to Earth. When two new batteries had been installed and three old ones removed,
17589-411: Was destroyed in a disaster shortly after its 10th launch, killing all seven crew members. Endeavour was built as Challenger ' s successor, and was first launched in 1992. In 2003, Columbia was destroyed during re-entry , leaving just three remaining orbiters. Discovery completed its final flight on March 9, 2011, and Endeavour completed its final flight on June 1, 2011. Atlantis completed
17732-530: Was also scrubbed due to anvil clouds and lightning within 10 nautical miles (19 km) of the launch site, which violated launch safety rules. STS-127 finally launched successfully on its sixth launch attempt, on July 15, 2009, at 18:03 EDT. Pieces of foam were observed falling off of the External Tank during the ascent, the same occurrence that had led to the loss of Columbia in 2003. However, Endeavour received only minor scuffs to its heat shield,
17875-436: Was attributed to the astronaut working at a fast pace. The crew of both the shuttle and station had a day off. The day was uneventful except for the station's American CO 2 removal system shutting down without any immediate impact. The Japanese Exposed Section cargo carrier was berthed in Endeavour ' s payload bay by the shuttle's robotic arm after it was handed the pallet by the station's robotic arm. After this
18018-407: Was below the flight deck, was normally equipped with up to three additional stowable seats, depending on the crew requirements of the mission. One mission carried four seats ( STS-61-A ) and NASA drew up plans that were never used to carry up to seven seats in the case of an emergency rescue ( STS-400 ). The galley, toilet, sleep locations, storage lockers, and the side hatch for entering and exiting
18161-404: Was capable of returning approximately 16,000 kg (35,000 lb) of cargo to Earth. The orbiter's maximum glide ratio / lift-to-drag ratio varied considerably with speed, ranging from 1:1 at hypersonic speeds , 2:1 at supersonic speeds , and reaching 4.5:1 at subsonic speeds during approach and landing. Individual Space Shuttle orbiters were named in honor of antique sailing ships of
18304-427: Was carried out at United States Air Force Plant 42 near Palmdale, California . The Reaction Control System (RCS) was composed of 44 small liquid-fueled rocket thrusters and their very sophisticated fly-by-wire flight control system , which utilized computationally intensive digital Kalman filtering . This control system carried out the usual attitude control along the pitch, roll, and yaw axes during all of
18447-472: Was especially true in the interior of the payload bay. The orbiter's structure was made primarily from aluminum alloy , although the engine thrust structure was made from titanium alloy . The later orbiters ( Discovery , Atlantis and Endeavour ) substituted graphite epoxy for aluminum in some structural elements in order to reduce weight. The windows were made of aluminum silicate glass and fused silica glass, and comprised an internal pressure pane,
18590-507: Was given to the set of structural components manufactured to replace those used in the construction of Endeavour ; however, the contract for these was canceled shortly afterwards, and they were never completed. The "096" and "097" designators were given to structural test articles that were canceled, but while they exist in some NASA records, the NASA History Office has no official record of STA-096 and STA-097. In addition to
18733-552: Was inspected with the Shuttle Robotic Arm/Orbiter Boom Sensor System ( OBSS ) and the voluminous data downlinked for analysis. The orbital maneuvering system pods were inspected for tile damage or protruding tiles. The extravehicular mobility units were checked in addition to the rendezvous system tests and centerline camera installation. In preparation for the docking, the docking ring was extended. The shuttle successfully docked with
18876-422: Was likely that the launch of STS-128 on August 7, 2009, would be pushed back slightly. On July 1, 2009, the shuttle managers conducted a new series of tanking tests to confirm a hypothesis that a misaligned vent port housing was the root cause of the leaks. The existing rigid seal was replaced with a flexible one in the hope that it would maintain a tight fix even under the cryogenic conditions that seem to cause
19019-588: Was made to allow the shuttle to attempt a second launch on June 17, 2009, allowing LRO to launch on June 18, 2009. The second launch attempt on June 17, 2009, was also scrubbed due to hydrogen leak issues seen from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate . Due to conflicts with the launch of the LRO, and due to a beta angle constraint, the next available launch opportunity was scheduled for July 11, 2009. A successful tanking test for leak checks
19162-424: Was officially scrubbed at 01:55 EDT. Following the launch scrub, Chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team LeRoy Cain noted that engineers would work to understand the hydrogen leak issue and come up with a solution to the problem. Cain said managers were hopeful that the issue could be resolved in time for the next available launch opportunity on July 11, 2009. Due to the delay of STS-127, managers noted that it
19305-429: Was originally intended to be used as a Structural Test Article (STA), rather than a flight-capable orbiter; as such, the numbering was changed when it was rebuilt. Enterprise , on the other hand, was intended to be rebuilt into a flight-capable orbiter; it was found to be cheaper to rebuild STA-099 than OV-101, so it remained unflown. The designations were not altered, despite these changes in plans. An "OV-106" designation
19448-465: Was performed on July 1, 2009, with modified GUCP seals allowing launch preparations to proceed as scheduled. Because of lightning strikes near the launch pad during the evening of July 10, 2009, NASA scrubbed the launch for the third time and rescheduled for July 12, 2009. Due to a Return To Launch Site (RTLS) weather violation, NASA scrubbed the launch for the fourth time on the evening of July 12, 2009. STS-127's fifth launch attempt, on July 13, 2009,
19591-475: Was quickly reset for July 15, 2009 (a 48 hours scrub turn around) due to weather concerns on July 14, 2009, and the desire to replace the Tyvek covers over the forward Reaction Control System thrusters. On July 15, 2009, at 18:03:10 EDT, the launch was finally successful. Upon reviewing the launch video footage, imagery analysts noted eight or nine instances of foam shedding from the External Tank. The pictures of
19734-745: Was safely docked in Marina del Rey on May 15. The tank was delivered to the Science Center on May 21. It was displayed outside the Samuel Oschin Pavilion until 2023. On March 28, 2017, both Northrop Grumman and NASA donated a pair of flight-proven solid rocket boosters for Endeavour exhibit. The rocket parts were delivered on September 11, 2020, and was temporarily stored in the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave , California until construction begins. The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center ,
19877-417: Was supported by a Vehicle Manager for the same spacecraft. Space Shuttle Endeavour ' s Flow Directors were: After more than twenty organizations submitted proposals for the display of an orbiter, on April 12, 2011, NASA announced that the Space Shuttle Endeavour would go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles . The Space Shuttle was mounted on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and departed from
20020-449: Was the backup for Christa McAuliffe who was on the ill-fated mission STS-51-L in 1986. As it was constructed later than its elder sisters, Endeavour was built with new hardware designed to improve and expand orbiter capabilities. Most of this equipment was later incorporated into the other three orbiters during out-of-service major inspection and modification programs. Endeavour ' s upgrades include: Modifications resulting from
20163-399: Was the flight deck, in which sat the Space Shuttle's commander and pilot in permanently fixed seats with up to two mission specialists seated behind them in stowable seats. The mission specialist in seat four (located behind and between commander and pilot) served as the flight engineer during ascent and landing, tracking information from CAPCOM and calling out milestones. The mid-deck, which
20306-537: Was the penultimate Space Shuttle mission; STS-135 was added to the schedule in January 2011, and in July Atlantis flew for the final time. ‡ Longest shuttle mission for Endeavour The Flow Director was responsible for the overall preparation of the Shuttle for launch and processing it after landing, and remained permanently assigned to head the spacecraft's ground crew while the astronaut flight crews changed for every mission. Each Shuttle's Flow Director
20449-563: Was underway, a gaseous hydrogen leak on a vent line near the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate was observed, and the June 13, 2009, launch was scrubbed at 00:26 EDT. As liquid hydrogen fuel is pumped in, some of it boils off as the extremely cold liquid enters the warm external tank. The vent line valve controls the resulting buildup of gas pressure by allowing excess gas to escape into a ground-side vent line, which leads to
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