Background and History
Endeavour, also identified by NASA as Orbiter Vehicle 105 or OV-105:
- Was named by students in elementary and secondary schools across the nation after a ship chartered to traverse the South Pacific in 1768.
- Was built to replace space shuttle Challenger and was the final orbiter to join the shuttle fleet.
- Made space history in May 1992 during its first mission, STS-49
- Three spacewalking astronauts made the unprecedented effort to grab an orbiting satellite with their gloved hands and pull it into Endeavour’s payload bay so it could be repaired and re-launched.
- Accomplished the first repair mission to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, basically giving the telescope “contact lenses” so it could peer to the farthest edges of the universe; as well as the first International Space Station assembly mission.
- Completed its successful 25th mission, STS-134, which involved the delivery of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 (AMS-2) to the ISS in May/June 2011.
- Landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California 7 times out of its 25 missions.
- The last California landing was on November 30, 2008 (STS-126).
- Now fully installed in “ready-to-launch” vertical configuration in the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center with the last flight-qualified external tank (ET-94) in existence and two flown solid rocket boosters.
- Leaves an amazing legacy in space and shares part of that legacy with Los Angeles, California, and the world from its permanent home at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, where it is the world’s only complete stack of authentic space shuttle hardware.
By the Numbers
Length: Orbiter - 122 feet
Height: Orbiter - 57 feet at the tip of its tail
Wingspan: 78 feet
Weight: 178,000 pounds
Payload Bay:
- Length – 60 feet
- Diameter – 15 feet
Earth orbits: 4,671
- 25 flights, through STS-134
Miles Traveled: 122,883,151
- 25 flights, through STS-134
Total Crew: 173*
*By STS-134 mission designation, Mike Fincke was the final first-time flier on the shuttle. Story Musgrave is the only astronaut to have flown on all five orbiters.
Time in Space: 299 Days
- 25 flights, through STS-134
The entire shuttle stack is now in “ready-to-launch” configuration at 180-feet tall and includes:
- the orbiter Endeavour
- External tank ET-94
- 2 solid rocket boosters
Significant Dates
The following are milestones and important missions the space shuttle Endeavour and its hardware embarked on along the journey to the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center:
May 7, 1992: Endeavour embarks on its first mission, STS-49, to rescue a wayward communications satellite.
September 12, 1992: During STS-47, Mamoru Mohri becomes Japan’s first astronaut in space, and Mae C. Jemison becomes the first African American woman to fly into space.
December 2, 1993: Astronauts conduct five spacewalks for STS-61 to repair the Hubble Space telescope.
December 5, 2001: During its 12th mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Endeavour exchanges ISS crews and delivers supplies.
November 14, 2008: STS-126, Endeavour delivers over 14,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the International Space Sation. The payload includes new crew quarters’ racks, galley, waste and hygiene, exercise, water reclamation, and experiment equipment.
February 8, 2010: Endeavour’s flight (STS-130) delivers the Tranquility module to the International Space Station. Tranquility provides additional room for crew and life support. Attached to the node is a seven-window cupola that provides a panoramic view of Earth and space.
April 12, 2011: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announces California Science Center will receive space shuttle Endeavour for permanent display.
May 16, 2011: Endeavour’s 25th and final flight mission, STS-134, delivers the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02), an antimatter detector, and various spare parts including parts for Dextre, the Canadian robotic arm. The orbiter lands on June 1, 2011.
October 11, 2011: NASA transfers title of space shuttle Endeavour to the California Science Center Foundation.
September 21, 2012: Aboard NASA’s Boeing 747 Suttle Carrier Aircraft, Endeavour takes a final flight with flyovers of Sacramento, San Francisco, the Central Coast and Los Angeles area before landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
October 12-14, 2012: Endeavour makes its historic 68-hour trek through urban streets from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center in Exposition Park. The 12-mile transport received cooperation from the cities of Los Angeles and Inglewood, and numerous agencies.
May 21, 2016: The external tank, ET-94, arrived at the California Science Center.
July 20, 2023: “Go for Stack” commenced with the installation of the Aft Skirts, the base of the 2 solid rocket boosters inside the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
October 11, 2023: The solid rocket motors arrived at the California Science Center from the Mojave Air and Space Port.
November 7, 2023: The solid rocket motors were lifted and lowered onto the Aft Skirts.
December 31, 2023: After 11 years, Endeavour went off display inside the Samuel Oschin Pavilion in preparation for the orbiter’s move and lift into vertical configuration inside the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, its new and permanent home.
January 12, 2024: The space shuttle’s external tank, ET-94, was lifted and mated next to the solid rocket boosters inside the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
January 30, 2024: Endeavour was lifted and mated to ET-94 inside the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
