At 78 feet wide, 57 feet high and 122 feet long-longer than two school buses-navigating Endeavour down the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood required the guidance and skill of over 100 people. After arrival, Endeavour honored many California landmarks as it flew over the state from Sacramento to Southern California, while onlookers marveled at the sight all along the way.Īfter landing at Los Angeles International Airport, the biggest adventure was yet to come-transporting Endeavour through the heart of urban Los Angeles to its new home in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion at the California Science Center. Endeavour first flew on the back of a Boeing 747 from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Edwards Air Force Base in California, while making several stops along the way. Moving space shuttle Endeavour across the United States was a massive undertaking. Credit: Ken Kremer STS-134 Endeavour Post Landing Press Briefing.īill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations, Mike Moses, Space Shuttle launch integration manager at NASA KSC, Mike Leinbach, Space Shuttle Launch Director at NASA KSC, laud the hard work and dedication of everyone working on the Space Shuttle program. STS-134 Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly.

Shuttle Endeavour Landing Photos by Mike Deep for Universe Today It’s been a heck of a month in the last 4 hours !” “We’ve had a lot going on here,” said Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager, “Being able to send Atlantis out to the pad and then go out and land Endeavour was really a combination I never expected to have. With the successful conclusion of Endeavour’s mission, the stage is now set for blastoff of the STS-135 mission on July 8, the very final flight of the three decade long shuttle Era. It’s sad to see her land for the last time, but she really has a great legacy.”Īfter the landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), Endeavour was towed back into the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) where she will be cleaned and “safed” in preparation for her final resting place – Retirement and public display at the California Science Center in Los Angelos, California. “On behalf of my entire crew, I want to thank every person who’s worked to get this mission going and every person who’s worked on Endeavour. “You know, the space shuttle is an amazing vehicle, to fly through the atmosphere, hit it at Mach 25, steer through the atmosphere like an airplane, land on a runway, it is really, really an incredible ship,” said Kelly. STS-134 was the 134th space shuttle mission and the 36th shuttle mission dedicated to ISS assembly and maintenance. He broke the record on May 27, his 377th day on May 27, by surpassing previous record holder Peggy Whitson. Simultaneously they completed the construction of the US portion of the ISS.ĭuring the flight, Mike Fincke established a new record of 382 days for time a U.S. Commander Kelly and his crew are in great spirits.”įour members of the crew conducted 4 spacewalks during the flight, which were the last by shuttle crew members during the space shuttle era. Mike Leinbach, the Space Shuttle Launch Director, said, “It’s been a great morning at the Kennedy Space Center. It couldn’t have gone any better for this mission.” “What a great ending to this really wonderful mission,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operation at a briefing today for reporters “They’re getting great data from their instrument on board the space station.

5 of 6 crew members of STS-134 mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour at post landing press briefing. AMS is a cosmic ray detector that seeks to unveil the invisible universe and search for evidence of dark matter, strange matter and antimatter. The night landing capped a highly productive flight highlighted by the delivery of the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station. Vittori is the last non NASA astronaut to fly on a shuttle mission. Johnson and Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and the European Space Agency’s Roberto Vittori. The crew was led by Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly.

Space shuttle endeavour