![]() ![]() Now liftoff will be shortly before sunrise - technically in darkness - assuming the schedule sticks. That was before Discovery's upcoming flight was delayed, from mid-March to April 5. 8, it was advertised as the last scheduled nighttime launch for a space shuttle. When Endeavour blasted off in the wee hours of Feb. NASA is being extra careful now when referencing all those "lasts." On Monday, workers already had begun the final processing for Endeavour's last flight. Leinbach noted that "a whole series of lasts" are coming up. ferry side of it, once the three remaining shuttles are retired.Īs if to signal the end, Endeavour had no returning space station crew on board. The Obama Administration is proposing that commercial rocket companies take a crack at the U.S. Astronauts will hitch rides exclusively on Russian Soyuz capsules, while cargo will arrive on unmanned carriers. NASA intends to wrap up the shuttle program this fall, after which the space station will be supplied by craft from Russia, Europe and Japan. Discovery will make the next trip in early April.Īs for Endeavour, it's due to fly one last time at the end of July. The four remaining shuttle flights will stock the space station with more experiments, spare parts and supplies, all critical to the long-term success of the program, said Mike Moses, a NASA manager. "My goodness, what a machine," Zamka said. It took three spacewalks to hook everything up.Įndeavour was reported to be in good shape, with no noticeable damage aside from a few dings. The two new compartments were supplied by the European Space Agency at a cost of more than $400 million. "The view was definitely out-of-the-world," he wrote in a Twitter update. It also holds the seven-windowed dome, quite possibly the most anticipated addition ever made to a spacecraft.Īt least one of the space station residents, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, watched Endeavour's atmospheric re-entry from the new observation deck. Tranquility already is serving as a base for life-support equipment, as well as a gym and restroom. Upon touchdown, Mission Control immediately relayed congratulations to Zamka and his crew for connecting Tranquility and opening those new "windows to the world." It was a great adventure," Zamka said after the shuttle rolled to a stop on the 3-mile-long runway, awash in xenon lights. But the rain stayed away, and the sky cleared just in time. All morning and afternoon, forecasters said rain and clouds probably would scuttle any touchdown attempts. Their success resulted in the virtual completion of the space station, described by NASA as 98 percent finished.įor a while Sunday, it seemed as though Endeavour's homecoming might be delayed. "A little bit sad note, but a great ending to a great mission."ĭuring the two-week, 5.7 million-mile journey, commander George Zamka and his crew delivered and installed a new space station room, Tranquility, and a big bay window with commanding views of Earth. "We'll go into it with our heads held high," launch director Mike Leinbach said early Monday, a few hours after Endeavour landed in Florida. ![]() Only one flight remains for Endeavour, the baby of the shuttle fleet. ![]()
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