The Endeavor embarks on the STS-99 earth observation mission
The Endeavor before the start of the STS-118 mission
The Endeavor at the California Science Center
The space shuttle Endeavor ( English for effort , effort ) was completed on April 25, 1991 as a replacement for the space shuttle Challenger and had its maiden flight on May 7, 1992. Its internal designation is OV-105. The last take-off took place on May 16, 2011 at 2:56 p.m. CEST , the last landing on June 1, 2011 at 8:35 a.m. CEST in Florida.
The Endeavor was built by Rockwell International and cost a total of $ 2.2 billion. She completed 25 successful flights.
The last time the shuttle was overhauled was between December 2003 and October 2005 (Orbiter Major Modification Period) and received important technical and safety-related improvements. In addition to the so-called glass cockpit , an instrument panel equipped with several freely assignable monitors, the Endeavor received an improved navigation system for position determination and the robotic arm extension Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) resulting from the recommendations of the “Columbia Accident Investigation Board” .
After its last mission in May / June 2011, the space shuttle was assigned as a museum piece to the California Science Center in Los Angeles at the end of the American shuttle program , and has been on display there since October 2012.
In honor of the Endeavor Shuttle, the two astronauts on the SpX-DM2 mission renamed their Dragon capsule in Earth orbit Endeavor. Both had made their first space flights with this shuttle.