Farewell Flight of Endeavour

First mission of Endeavour on 1992.  
(Picture from: http://www.theregister.co.uk/)

Endeavour (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is one of three space shuttle (orbiter), which operates by NASA. Two shuttle Discovery and the other is Atlantis.

Endeavour is the name of the contest results search plane name followed by 6,154 students. Endeavour comes from the name of the British cruisers in the 18th century. The ship was commanded by Captain James Cook and the mission of exploring the South Pacific to observe the phenomenon of a black dot sun (Transit of Venus).

Endeavour development takes time for 3.5 years, from September 1987 until completion in April 1991. Some components Endeavour taken from parts of the space shuttle Discovery.

Final mission of Endeavour on 2011.  
(Picture from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)
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The shuttle Endeavour has a cruising speed of 17,400 miles per hour. And Endeavour have 4,423 in orbit round the earth, the distance to fly as far as 116 million miles, spent 283 days in space, and 167 astronauts have participated in Endeavour missions. The first mission took place in 1992, Endeavour orbiter carrying seven astronauts. STS-49 mission code has the task of repairing the Intelsat VI communications satellite. The mission was completed in 30 minutes.

Endeavour also visited the Hubble Space Telescope with the task of repairing the telescope in December 1993. STS-61 mission code was the first and last Endeavour mission to the Hubble.

On May 16, 2011, the 25th mission, the space shuttle Endeavour rolled off toward the ISS from Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) airbase. STS-134 mission code is the 12th time Endeavour visits the ISS as well as a final mission of Endeavour.

Nasa's Endeavour montage featuring all 25 mission patches and you can get a bigger version here. (Picture from: http://www.theregister.co.uk/)

On this last mission Endeavour carrying six crew and an instrument called Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The tool is then placed in ISS for monitoring radiation in the universe. On this mission Endeavour's crew also make improvements in some components of the ISS. Endeavour completed the last mission for sixteen days in space and retired at age 19.

Endeavour space shuttle atop NASA's shuttle carrier aircraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Monday. The beginning of Endeavour's final flight to California has been postponed because of weather along the flight route. (Picture from: http://www.ocregister.com/)

However, in September 2012 Endeavour to travel across cities in the United States with a modified Boeing horseback. By riding the NASA's Boeing 747 jumbo jet (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft), Endeavour space shuttle left its home in Florida for the last time on Wednesday (September 19, 2012) local time and will be settled in California as a display for tourists in the museum.

Endeavour space shuttle last flight route. 
(Picture from: http://www.sacbee.com/)

Endeavour sightseeing flight across cities in the United States had planned to start on Monday (September 17, 2012). But because cold fronts across Texas and into the Gulf of Mexico led to the departure of the Endeavour was delayed for two days. After experiencing two days of flight delays due to weather, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet has been modified landing on Kennedy Space Center shortly after dawn on Wednesday.

When the sun rises on the edge of the sea of Florida, Endeavour's jets take off into the clouds and the sky was partly cloudy with a slight pink color, drove south to receive the congratulations of the neighbors on the coast. Flights duo toured back to the Kennedy Space Center to bid farewell to the workers and guests.

At noon on Wednesday, Endeavour with a Boeing 747 jumbo jet landed at Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center in Houston to stay overnight before the vehicle goes on cross-country trips in the United States on Thursday. Since the departure from Houston Endeavour at dawn on Thursday, fueling done at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, and the journey continues to the NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where Endeavour will stay overnight.

On Friday morning (September 21, 2012) local time, Endeavour flew to northern California to cross the NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field and other important places around San Francisco, Sacramento and other cities.

Space Shuttle Endeavour mounted on NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (Picture from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)

Finally, after flying across the cities during the past three days, Endeavour space shuttle mounted on a Boeing 747 jumbo jet touched down at Los Angeles International Airport California and both entered the runway at the far south of the airport on Friday noon around 12:51 pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time). After that, Endeavour will be released from the carrier aircraft then moved to a hangar to be prepared and transported next month to the California Science Center, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the airport, and exhibited start from October 30, 2012. *** [DEDE NUROSYID | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 27092012]

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