Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Networking
    • Small Business

    Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches for the Last Time

    Written by

    Nathan Eddy
    Published May 16, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      The space shuttle Endeavour rocketed into space for its final voyage the morning of May 16 from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bringing the storied program one step closer to a close.

      Endeavour’s last launch will be the space agency’s penultimate shuttle flight. The shuttle lifted off at exactly 8:56 a.m EST after a series of technical issues forced weeks of delays. Now Endeavour and its crew embark on a 16-day mission at the ISS (International Space Station).

      The crew members for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission are Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and mission specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel, and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori. Kelly’s wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who was critically wounded after an assassination attempt in Arizona in January, arrived at Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch.

      The Associated Press reported Giffords and her staff received a brief tour of the shuttle as it sat on the launchpad. “Gabrielle is excited for tomorrow’s launch. Do you plan to see history in the making?” her staff tweeted. Early this morning her Twitter account greeted her followers with a good morning message before asking, “Who’s ready for the best show on Earth?”

      The shuttle will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a particle physics detector designed to operate from the station and search for various types of unusual matter, to the ISS. Also onboard for delivery will be station spare parts on the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 3 (ELC3), including two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, an ammonia tank assembly, circuit breaker boxes, a Canadarm2 computer and a spare arm for the Dextre robot. The ELC3 also houses a suite of Department of Defense (DoD) experiments that will test systems and materials concepts for long duration spaceflight in low Earth orbit.

      Endeavour’s final mission also includes four spacewalks that focus on station maintenance, experiment swap out and transferring Endeavour’s orbiter boom sensor system (OBSS) to the station. The crew will leave the boom as a permanent fixture to aid future station spacewalk work if needed, according to a mission overview provided by the space agency.

      Feustel will perform spacewalks one, two and three, wearing a spacesuit marked with solid red stripes. By the end of the mission, he will have six spacewalks on his resume-he participated in three spacewalks during the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in 2009. Going into the mission, he has already spent 20 hours and 58 minutes spacewalking. Wearing an all-white spacesuit, Fincke will go outside the station for spacewalks two, three and four.

      For the third spacewalk, Feustel and Fincke will try out a new procedure aimed at cutting down the amount of oxygen used in spacewalk preparations. Rather than spend the night inside the Quest Airlock, used to purge nitrogen from the spacewalkers’ systems and prevent decompression sickness (also known as “the bends”), Feustel and Fincke will wait until the morning of their spacewalk to begin getting ready.

      They will breathe pure oxygen through air masks for an hour as the air pressure inside the Quest is lowered. After that, they will be able to put on their spacesuits and perform light exercise, which NASA described as making small leg movements inside the Quest for 50 minutes to raise their metabolic rate and purge nitrogen from their bloodstream before the start of the spacewalk.

      Endeavour ends it service with 25 missions-it was the last addition to NASA’s orbiter fleet and named after the first ship commanded by James Cook, the 18th-century British explorer, navigator and astronomer. Following this final flight, Endeavour will be displayed in Los Angeles at the California Science Center.

      Nathan Eddy
      Nathan Eddy
      A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan was perviously the editor of gaming industry newsletter FierceGameBiz and has written for various consumer and tech publications including Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, CRN, and The Times of London. Currently based in Berlin, he released his first documentary film, The Absent Column, in 2013.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.