![]() The maiden flight began on May 7, 1992, at 7:40 p.m. "It's sad to see her land for the last time, but she really has a great legacy," Kelly replied. Welcome home, Endeavour," Mission Control said as the shuttle successfully touched down at the Kennedy Space Center. "Your landing ends a vibrant legacy for this amazing vehicle that will long be remembered. He returned to training in February, after taking time off to be at his wife's hospital bedside. Kelly is married to Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head and critically wounded in January 2011. Mark Kelly commanded Endeavour's last voyage, along with five crewmates: Gregory Johnson, Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and Roberto Vittori. They included a $2-billion instrument that measures cosmic rays called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), as well as critical spare parts such as communications antennae, a high-pressure gas tank and debris shields that are needed to keep the ISS orbiting for another 10 years. The primary goal of the 16-day flight was to deliver several pieces of cargo to the ISS. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.Endeavour's 25th and final mission, STS-134, docked at the International Space Station (ISS) two days into the mission. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. Carrie Khan, NPR News.Ĭopyright © 2012 NPR. ![]() The loss of hundreds of trees has upset residents living along Endeavour's final route, but today as the five-story-tall shuttle craft rolled through town, all you heard were the oohs and ahhs. Light poles, traffic signals and street signs are being removed too. KAHN: Crews are still cutting trees along L.A.'s streets to make way for Endeavour. KAHN: Well, I think what's amazing is its last trip is 2 miles an hour. HEATHER: And it saw a sunset or a sunrise every 45 minutes. Heather Lemon and dozens of other volunteers from the California Science Center were full of Endeavour facts for the curious onlookers. KAHN: In its 25 missions, Endeavour logged more than 123 million miles, orbited the Earth nearly 4,700 times at a speed of more than 17,000 miles an hour. KAHN: Well, you could see the dents and the bumps and everything.ĭELGADO: That's travel - space travel for you. ![]() KAHN: Christian Delgado did get pretty close, about 50 feet away, close enough to see Endeavour's well-worn heat-resistant tiles. KAHN: By midday, the crowd swelled into the hundreds despite the light rain.ĬHRISTIAN DELGADO: It's amazing. so this is really something special, extra, extra special. We were - our kids used to call this Westchester, Deadchester, so. KAHN: Ever seen anything like this before? And we live in Westchester, and we figured, well, we wanted to be able to sit and enjoy and then stand when it starts moving, so we brought some breakfast and tea, and it has been great and exciting all the people. ROSEMARIE GUNNING: What time did we get over here? Rosemarie Gunning and Maureen Taft were ready with lawn chairs and snacks. It's just 2 miles from L.A.'s airport, but it took a couple of hours for the 170,000-pound space shuttle to get there. NPR's Carrie Kahn caught up with Endeavour along its route today.ĬARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Endeavour's first stop was a bank parking lot in nearby Westchester. For the next two days, the shuttle will be towed from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center in downtown L.A. After 25 trips in orbit, Space Shuttle Endeavour is making its final journey, this one through the streets of Los Angeles. From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
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