The first task on tap was for Fincke and Vittori. Once the hatches were opened, the shuttle and station crew enjoyed a brief welcoming ceremony and immediately got down to business as they began a busy work schedule for the almost 12 days of docked operations. Coats (left) and STS-134 crew members are pictured during the crew return ceremony on June 2 held at Ellington Field.Īt the post-launch news conference Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier said, "The mission in front of us is no easy mission, the EVAs (extra vehicular activities) are very demanding - but it'll be exciting to see the AMS get installed on the station and get some real research data on the ISS."Īs Endeavour slowly approached the station, with both spacecraft moving at 17,500 mph, it paused about 600 feet away to do the standard back flip maneuver that gave ISS Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman an opportunity to take about 500 photos of the shuttle's thermal protection tiles to look for possible damage before it flew ahead of the station and backed into the docking port. Image above: NASA's Johnson Space Center director Michael L. Image above: A "towback" vehicle slowly pulls shuttle Endeavour into Orbiter Processing Facility-1 where it will be processed for retirement. Image above: NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden congratulates the STS-134 crew on a job well done following the successful landing of space shuttle Endeavour.
Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell Image above: Xenon lights help lead space shuttle Endeavour home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image above: Mission Specialists Andrew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff, both STS-134 participate in a spacewalk as construction and maintenance continue on the ISS. Shortly after this image was taken, the AMS was moved from the payload bay to the station's starboard truss.
Image above: The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 in Endeavour's payload bay is featured in this image snapped by an STS-134 crew member. Image above: Rising on twin columns of fire, smoke and steam, space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from its seaside Launch Pad 39A. Image above: Endeavour's STS-134 astronauts wave to media and other spectators before boarding NASA's Astrovan. This was the first shuttle flight for Fincke, a veteran space flier, and Vittori, who was the last international astronaut to fly aboard a shuttle. Johnson and Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Andrew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori with the European Space Agency. EDT Monday, May 16, 2011, to lift it and its crew of six off of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Įndeavour sailed through the clouds headed for the International Space Station (ISS) on its historic final flight for the Space Shuttle Program, the STS-134 mission, carrying in its payload bay the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and essential supplies, including two communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional parts for the Dextre robot.Īboard Endeavour on a 16-day mission were Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Greg H. Space program employees, media and several hundred thousand spectators held their breath in rapt attention as the minutes ticked down to launch - then space shuttle Endeavour's main engines ignited for the final time at 8:56 a.m.
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