It’s the final time Endeavour will enter an OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility). After a storied 19 year, 25 flight career, the Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour was rolled into OPF-2 at the Kennedy Space Center this morning to undergo final outfitting, Main Propulsion System (MPS) tear down, and configuration activities ahead of her October ferry flight [...]
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NASA’s 15 Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) are being transported to the Stennis Space Center (SSC), as they transition towards their future role with the Space Launch System (SLS). The highly reliable RS-25Ds – nine of which flew with the last three Space Shuttle missions – will eventually be succeeded by the expendable RS-25E, early [...]
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All good things must come to an end. And thus was the grand finale of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. It was year of exceptional highs and emotional scenes as Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis closed out their remarkable careers with same style, grace, mission success, and safety that all had come to know from [...]
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A critical step in the process of clearing STS-135/Atlantis and her systems for flight has been completed in the form of the In-Flight Anomaly Review (IFA Review) for the previous program flight: STS-134/Endeavour. Particularly, Endeavour’s booster rockets were shown to have performed excellently during the May 2011 retirement flight of OV-105, with only one outstanding [...]
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As engineers continue to safe Endeavour, following her highly successful final mission, an investigation into the observed brake fire – as the orbiter came to a stop on the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) runway – is struggling to find a specific root cause. Elevated to the Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs), the STS-134 incident is classed [...]
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Following the conclusion to her flight career, Endeavour is now undergoing safing, ahead of being stripped of her numerous propulsion elements in preparation for shipping to her California retirement home next year. As managers review her performance, one item of interest relates to a small fire on her Left Main Landing Gear (LMLG) during rollout [...]
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Following a lengthy, yet highly successful, STS-134 mission, Endeavour has landed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to conclude her service in space, ahead of a premature retirement to California. Endeavour landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at 2:35am Eastern, after the first return opportunity was taken.
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After nearly 12 days of docked operations with Space Station Alpha, the Space Shuttle Endeavour, NASA youngest Shuttle orbiter, departed the international outpost to begin her final journey home. Thanks to the superb work by her flight crew and her thousands of support staff on terra firma, Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) was formally cleared [...]
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Concluding a highly successful docked mission for STS-134, Endeavour and her crew undocked at 22:55 Central on Sunday, ahead of a busy and prolonged farewell to the Station which she was heavily involved in building. It involves nearly five hours of work until Endeavour’s final separation burn, as she performed a debut manuever specific to [...]
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As Endeavour heads into the sunset portion of her historic final voyage to space, her crew have completed one of the biggest lasts in the Shuttle Program: the 162nd and FINAL Space Shuttle spacewalk. This historic day concluded all scheduled EVA activities for the Space Shuttle Program and its astronauts since EVAs on Shuttle missions began [...]
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As the historic milestones continue to come thick and fast, Endeavour was put through her final inspections via the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), ahead of presenting it to the International Space Station (ISS) as a farewell gift. The results of the scans – which focus on her Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels – will [...]
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STS-134 Spacewalkers Drew Feustel and Mike Fincke have marked a historic first – surrounding their EVA-3 consisting of FGB Power Data Grapple Fixture work, Y-Jumper installations, and cable tasks – as they debuted a new campout procedure called the In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) EVA Pre-Breathe Protocol. Meanwhile, the Mission Management Team (MMT) decided not to [...]
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The Russian Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft, also known by its US designation of 25S, departed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday after five months on-orbit. Prior to a successful landing, Soyuz TMA-20 participated in a unique and historical event to photograph the ISS while the Space Shuttle Endeavour is docked to the complex, providing [...]
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Endeavour’s flight crew have completed the second of four planned EVAs/spacewalks - focusing on port SARJ and Dextre lubrication and ammonia coolant line and tank work - lasting an epic eight hours and seven minutes. The spacewalk came after mission managers officially cleared Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System for reentry, following a multi-day review process of the vehicle’s ascent data, [...]
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Following the decision made by the Mission Management Team (MMT) to press ahead with a Focused Inspection (FI) on one area of Thermal Protection System (TPS) damage located on Endeavour’s belly, the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) was used to gain imagery which has successfully allowed managers to clear the vehicle for entry. Later on Flight Day [...]
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Endeavour’s flight crew have completed the mission’s first EVA, focusing on MISSE experiment swap outs and ammonia jumper line installations. Meanwhile, engineers on the ground poured over imagery data from FD-3′s RPM (R-bar Pitch Maneuver) which helped engineers identify a debris impact area on Endeavour which will require a Focused Inspection (FI) during FD-6 (Saturday).
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As Endeavour works through Flight Day 4 (FD4), the historic milestone of delivering and attaching the final component for the U.S. segment of the ISS has been completed, with the installation of the premiere scientific experiment to the Station: the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2. Meanwhile, Endeavour performed above and beyond expectations during her triumphant final ascent to space [...]
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The STS-134 crew have completed the installation of ExPRESS Logistics Carrier -3 (ELC-3) to round up a busy Flight Day 3, which opened the docked phase of the mission. Meanwhile, the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) are carrying out a Focused Inspection (FI) review of the additional imagery gained during Endeavour’s R-Bar Pitch Manuever (RPM), which [...]
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In another historic milestone for Endeavour’s final flight, the fleet’s youngest orbiter chased down the International Space Station (ISS) to kick start the docked phase of the STS-134 mission. Endeavour arrived in superb shape, with the Mission Management Team (MMT) only having to review a handful of very minor issues, following an extremely clean ascent to [...]
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The 25th and final mission of Endeavour is underway following a visually stunning mid-morning liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour and her six-man international crew are for an orbital mission filled with firsts and unique and inspiring challenges.
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