Space Shuttle Endeavour

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Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour on the launch pad prior to mission STS-113, November 22, 2002.
OV Designation OV-105
Country United States
Contract award July 31, 1987
Named after HM Bark Endeavour
First flight STS-49
May 7, 1992 - May 16, 1992
Last flight STS-118
August 8, 2007 - August 21, 2007
Number of missions 20
Time spent in space  219.35 days
Number of orbits 3,259
Distance travelled 136,910,237 km (73,925,614 nmi)
Satellites deployed 3
Mir dockings 1
ISS dockings 7
Status Active

Space Shuttle Endeavour (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is one of the three currently operational spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States.[1] (The other two are Discovery and Atlantis.) Endeavour was the fifth and final NASA space shuttle to be built.

Contents

As of 2007-09-25, Endeavour is in Bay 2 of the Orbiter Processing Facility.[2] Preparations are underway for her next mission, STS-123, for which the target launch date is 2008-02-14.

The United States Congress authorized the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace Challenger, which was lost in an accident in 1986. Structural spares from the construction of Discovery and Atlantis, two of the three remaining operating shuttles at the time, were used in its assembly. The decision to build Endeavour was favored over refitting Enterprise on cost grounds.

Endeavour being transported by the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Endeavour being transported by the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

Endeavour was delivered by Rockwell International in May 1991 and first launched a year later, in May 1992, on STS-49. Rockwell International claimed that it had made no profit on Space Shuttle Endeavour, despite it costing $2.2 billion USD. On its first mission, it captured and redeployed the stranded INTELSAT VI communications satellite.

In 1993, it made the first service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Endeavour was withdrawn from service for eight months in 1997 for a retrofit, including installation of a new airlock. In December 1998, it delivered the Unity Module to the International Space Station.

Endeavour was named through a national competition involving students in elementary and secondary schools. Tallulah Falls School in Tallulah Falls, Georgia, was the winner of the secondary school competition. The orbiter is named after HM Bark Endeavour, the ship commanded by 18th century explorer James Cook; the name also honored Endeavour, the Command Module of Apollo 15. This is why the name is spelled in the British English manner, rather than the American English spelling of "Endeavor." This has caused confusion, most notably when NASA themselves misspelled a sign on the launch pad in 2007.[3]

Endeavour completed its latest Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December 2003, and ended on Thursday, October 6, 2005. During this time, the Orbiter received major hardware upgrades, including a new, multi-functional, electronic display system, often referred to as glass cockpit, and an advanced GPS receiver, along with safety upgrades recommended by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) for Shuttle return to flight after the disintegration of sister-ship Columbia during re-entry on February 1, 2003.

Endeavour docked with the International Space Station for the STS-118 mission in August, 2007. This mission's crew included astronaut Barbara Morgan, formerly assigned to the Educator Astronaut program but now a full member of the Astronaut Corps. On August 9th, 2007, NASA confirmed that damage to the shuttle's thermal protection system had occurred due to ice from the external tank striking the underside of the shuttle at liftoff.

At 12:32pm Eastern Time, the Endeavour successfully landed at Kennedy Space Center, a day early. Its mission was cut short due to the possibility of Hurricane Dean making landfall in the Houston area, requiring evacuation of Mission Control. It was then towed into OPF #2 to begin processing for its next ISS mission, STS-123. This mission is set for launch in February 2008.

Endeavour Launch Pad 39-B before the launch of STS-97
Endeavour Launch Pad 39-B before the launch of STS-97

Endeavour features new hardware designed to improve and expand orbiter capabilities. Most of this equipment was later incorporated into the other two orbiters during out-of-service major inspection and modification programs. Endeavour's upgrades include:

  • A 40-foot (12 m) diameter drag chute that is expected to reduce the orbiter's rollout distance by 1,000 to 2,000 feet (305 to 610 m).
  • The plumbing and electrical connections needed for Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) modifications to allow up to 28-day missions (although a 28-day mission has never yet been attempted; the current record is 17 days, which was set with the Columbia orbiter).
  • Updated avionics systems that include advanced general purpose computers, improved inertial measurement units and tactical air navigation systems, enhanced master events controllers and multiplexer-demultiplexers, a solid-state star tracker and improved nose wheel steering mechanisms.
  • An improved version of the Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) that provide power to operate the Shuttle's hydraulic systems.

Modifications resulting from a 2005-2006 refit of Endeavour include:

  • The Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS), which converts 8 kilowatts of DC power from the ISS main voltage of 120VDC to the orbiter bus voltage of 28VDC. This upgrade will allow Endeavour to remain on-orbit while docked at ISS for an additional 3- to 4-day duration. The corresponding power equipment was added to the ISS during the STS-116 station assembly mission, and Endeavour flew with SSPTS capability during STS-118.[4][5][6]

Space Shuttle Endeavour has flown 20 flights, spent 219.35 days in space, completed 3,259 orbits, and flown 85,072,077 miles (136,910,237 km) in total, as of August 2007.

# Date Designation Launch pad Landing location Notes
1 1992 May 7 STS-49 39-B Edwards Air Force Base First flight of Endeavour: Capture and redeploy Intelsat VI. First three-man EVA, longest US EVA since Apollo 17
2 1992 Sep 12 STS-47 39-B Kennedy Space Center Spacelab mission J
3 1993 Jan 13 STS-54 39-B Kennedy Deploy TDRS-F
4 1993 Jun 21 STS-57 39-B Kennedy Spacelab experiments. Retrieve European Retrievable Carrier
5 1993 Dec  2 STS-61 39-B Kennedy First Hubble Space Telescope service mission (HSM-1)
6 1994 Apr  9 STS-59 39-A Edwards Space Radar Laboratory experiments
7 1994 Sep 30 STS-68 39-A Edwards Space Radar Laboratory experiments
8 1995 Mar 30 STS-67 39-A Edwards Spacelab Astro-2 experiments
9 1995 Sep  7 STS-69 39-A Kennedy Wake Shield Facility and other experiments
10 1996 Jan 11 STS-72 39-B Kennedy Retrieve Japanese Space Flyer Unit
11 1996 May 19 STS-77 39-B Kennedy Spacelab experiments
12 1998 Jan 22 STS-89 39-A Kennedy Rendezvous with Mir space station and astronaut exchange
13 1998 Dec 4 STS-88 39-A Kennedy International Space Station assembly mission (assembled the Unity Module (Node 1), first American component of the ISS)
14 2000 Feb 11 STS-99 39-A Kennedy Shuttle Radar Topography Mission experiments
15 2000 Nov 30 STS-97 39-B Kennedy International Space Station assembly mission (P6 truss segment)
16 2001 Apr 19 STS-100 39-A Edwards International Space Station assembly mission (Canadarm2 robotic arm and hand)
17 2001 Dec  5 STS-108 39-B Kennedy International Space Station rendezvous and astronaut exchange (Expedition 3/Expedition 4)
18 2002 Jun  5 STS-111 39-A Edwards International Space Station rendezvous and astronaut exchange (Expedition 4/Expedition 5)
19 2002 Nov 23 STS-113 39-A Kennedy International Space Station assembly mission and astronaut exchange/final successful shuttle flight before the Columbia disaster (Expedition 5/6 exchange; P1 truss segment assembly)
20 2007 Aug 8 STS-118 39-A Kennedy Four spacewalks conducted [7]. Installation of the International Space Station S5 Truss, of the Integrated Truss Structure. Carried a SPACEHAB module carrying 5,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Crew included the Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan. Thermal tiles protecting the underside of the vehicle were damaged during launch. NASA decided not to fix this damage in-flight as it was not believed be serious enough to result in loss of vehicle or crew. The craft landed a day early due to the possibility that Hurricane Dean would force Mission Control to evacuate.
21 NET 2008 Feb 14 STS-123 39-A Planned for Kennedy Space Center International Space Station assembly mission which will deliver the first element of Japan's Kibo module along with a Canadian robotic arm, Dextre, and the Spacelab Pallet-Deployable 1.


Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft lifts off with Endeavour from Edwards AFB in May 2001.
Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft lifts off with Endeavour from Edwards AFB in May 2001.

According to NASA, Space Shuttle Endeavour will be decommissioned in 2010, after 18 years of service, along with Discovery. NASA expects to have the Orion spacecraft ready no later than 2014. Based on the current (as of August 2007) consolidated launch manifest, Endeavour may be the last Orbiter to fly, contingent on the optional STS-133 mission to the International Space Station, which will carry the final components in the ISS assembly sequence, the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier ELC5 and ELC1, to orbit.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

  1. ^ Space Shuttle Overview: Endeavour (OV-105). NASA.
  2. ^ Space Shuttle Processing Status Report. NASA (2007-09-21).
  3. ^ Shuttle's Name Misspelled On NASA Launch Pad Sign. WKMG-TV. Retrieved on 2007-07-14.
  4. ^ Vehicle Upgrades: Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS). Boeing: Integrated Defense Systems.
  5. ^ NASA Presolicitation Notice: Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS). NASA, United States.
  6. ^ NASA's Space Shuttle Processing Status Report: S05-034. NASA, United States.
  7. ^ Space Shuttle Mission STS-122

v • d • e
Space Shuttle Endeavour (OV-105)
Flights: STS-49 · STS-47 · STS-54 · STS-57 · STS-61 · STS-59 · STS-68 · STS-67 · STS-69 · STS-72 · STS-77 · STS-89 · STS-88 · STS-99 · STS-97 · STS-100 · STS-108 · STS-111 · STS-113 · STS-118
Upcoming: STS-123 · STS-126 · STS-127 · STS-129 · STS-131 · STS-133
Status: Operational
v • d • e
Space Shuttle program
Main articles Space Shuttle · Space Shuttle program Space Shuttle insignia
Components Orbiter · Solid Rocket Booster · External Tank · Main Engines · Orbital Maneuvering System
Orbiters Enterprise · Columbia · Challenger · Discovery · Atlantis · Endeavour
Launch sites Kennedy Space Center LC-39 · Vandenberg Air Force Base · SLC-6
Developments Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle · Shuttle-C · Ares I · Ares V
Testing Pathfinder · MPTA · MPTA-ET
Other articles Missions (cancelled) · Decision to build · Crews · Abort modes · Space shuttles in fiction · Crawler-transporter · Shuttle Carrier Aircraft · Space Shuttle America (motion simulator ride) · Space Shuttle Explorer (shuttle replica)
v • d • e
Space Shuttles
American US Space Shuttle program   Soviet Soviet Buran program
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Endeavour"
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