The end of Endeavour: Shuttle touches down on Earth after final space mission
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER...View MoreThe end of Endeavour: Shuttle touches down on Earth after final space mission
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated: 17:40 GMT, 1 June 2011
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Endeavour returns to Kennedy Space Center after completing Nasa's share of construction at the
ISS
Atlantis wheeled to the launch pad in front of thousands of onlookers
ahead of final shuttle mission
Space shuttle Endeavour and its six astronauts returned to Earth
in the early hours of this morning, bringing to an end the penultimate mission in Nasa's 30-year programme.
Endeavour touched down on the runway a final time under the cover of darkness, just as Atlantis, the last shuttle bound for space, arrived at the launch pad
for the grand finale in five weeks.
Commander Mark Kelly - whose wife, Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, remained at
her rehab centre in Houston - brought Endeavour to a stop before hundreds of onlookers that included the
four Atlantis astronauts who will take flight in July.
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Under cover of darkness: Endeavour touched down on the runway at Kennedy Space Center a final time this morning
Nearly over: The landing at 2.35am local time (7.35am GMT) brought to an end the penultimate mission in Nasa's 30-year programme
ENDEAVOUR'S FINAL TALLY
25 flights, nearly half of them to the space station
122.8million miles
170 crew members
299 days in space
4,672 orbits of Earth
Mission control told the astonauts: '122million miles flown during 25 challenging space-flights.
Your landing ends a vibrant legacy for this amazing vehicle
that will long be remembered. Welcome home, Endeavour.'
Commander Kelly replied: 'It's sad to see her land for the last time, but she really has a great legacy.'
He thanked all those who worked on Endeavour over the years.
The final Endeavour crew completed the U.S. share of construction during their 16-day trip to the International Space Station.
A considerably bigger crowd had gathered a few hours earlier
to see Atlantis make its way to the launch pad, the last such trek ever by a shuttle.
Thousands of Kennedy Space Centre workers and their families lined the
route last night as Atlantis crept out of the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building a little after
sunset, bathed in xenon lights.
Mission completed: The final Endeavour crew completed the
U.S. share of construction during their
16-day trip to the International Space Station
During their mission, Endeavour's crew installed a $2billion cosmic
ray detector, an extension beam and a platform full
of spare parts, enough to keep the ISS operating in the shuttle-less
decade ahead
Homecoming heroes: Endeavour astonauts (from left to right) Roberto
Vittori, Gregory Johnson, Mark Kelly, Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel
Atlantis Commander Christopher Ferguson said, waving towards
his ship: 'We're going to look upon this final mission as a celebration of all
that the space shuttle has accomplished over
its 30-year life span.'
Bright lights also illuminated the landing strip for Kelly and his
crew, who made the 25th night landing out of a total of
134 shuttle flights.
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The Endeavour astronauts - all experienced spacemen - departed the 220mile-high outpost
over the weekend, after adding the finishing touches.
They installed a $2billion cosmic ray detector, an extension beam and a platform full of spare parts,
enough to keep the station operating in the
shuttle-less decade ahead.
Their flight lasted 16 days and completed Nasa's role in the space station construction effort
that began 12 years ago.
Last shuttle: Atlantis approaches the launch pad after it was
rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space
Center last night
Thousands of Kennedy Space Centre workers and
their families lined the route as Atlantis made its way towards the launch pad
The official tally for Nasa's youngest shuttle after 25 flights,
nearly half of them to the space station, is 122.8million miles, 170 crew members, 299 days in space and 4,672 orbits
of Earth.
Kelly's wife was shot in the head during a mass shooting in January,
but made a remarkable recovery and was able to watch the launch
on May 16.
She did not travel to Florida for the landing
because of the inconvenient hour, her husband said.
They will reunite in Houston on Thursday.
Ready for action: Atlantis will bring Nasa's 30-year
space shuttle programme to an end when it completes its final mission in July
Waiting to make history: The Atlantis crew (from left to right) is Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley
and mission specialists Sandy Mangus and Rex Welhiem
Night-time view: Endeavour while she was still docked at the ISS at
the weekend
Out and about: A new image of astronaut Greg Chamitoff carrying out repairs on the ISS during the mission's fourth spacewalk
last week
An Endeavour crewmember took this image of the ISS
solar array wings intersecting the thin line of Earth's atmosphere
Last lift-off: Endeavour blasts away from Kennedy Space Center on May 16.
She today followed Discovery into retirement. Nasa plans to close out
its 30-year-old shuttle programme with a final supply run to the
ISS aboard Atlantis in July
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The end of Endeavour: Shuttle touches down on Earth after final space mission
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER...View More