WEBVTT

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Music

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George Diller Launch Commentator: "Go for main engine start,

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8...

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7...

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6...

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5...

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4...

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2...

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1...

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zero...and liftoff for the final launch of Endeavour...

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expanding our knowledge and expanding our lives in space."

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And with that, space shuttle Endeavour embarked on its final flight on the morning of

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May 16, 2011, carrying six crew members on their way to complete U.S. construction of

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the International Space Station.

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Under the command of Mark Kelly,

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Pilot Greg Johnson and

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Mission Specialists Mike Fincke,

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Greg Chamitoff,

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Drew Feustel and the European Space Agency's

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Roberto Vittori headed to orbit.

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After the remote inspection of the shuttle's exterior thermal protection system was

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complete, Vittori and Johnson used the shuttle's robotic arm to reach into the payload bay

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and grapple the Express Logistics Carrier.

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Once Endeavour caught up with the station, Kelly put the shuttle through a "backflip"

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at a distance of 600 feet to allow the station crew to photograph Endeavour's thermal

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protection tiles before docking.

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During the docking process an advanced system called

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STORMM -- or Sensor Test for Orion Rel-nav Risk Mitigation -- gathered data that could

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help future spacecraft dock to the station.

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Soon after docking and the hatches were opened, the Express Logistics Carrier containing

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space parts was installed on the station's exterior using shuttle and station robotic arms.

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The chief payload -- the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 -- was handed off from the

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shuttle arm to the station's and then placed in its permanent position atop

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the starboard 3 truss.

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The spectrometer is a 15,000-pound, $2 billion advanced scientific instrument that could

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answer basic questions about our universe, perhaps shedding light on dark matter

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and antimatter.

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The mission's first of four spacewalks was completed by Feustel and Chamitoff as they

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swapped exterior experiments and installed equipment in more than six hours

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outside the station.

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The following day, the crew used the station's robotic arm to conduct a focused

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inspection to collect photographs and data on a small area of damage spotted on

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Endearvour's underside.

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The information gathered enabled mission managers to clear Endeavour for its return.

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That same day, the combined crews joined together in the Kibo module for a special call

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from Pope Benedict XVI.

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Spacewalk two paired Fincke and Feustel as they spent eight hours completing station

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maintenance tasks.

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Among those tasks -- topping off ammonia in a cooling loop and lubricating a solar array

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joint on the port truss and one of the hands on Dextre robotic arm.

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There was a break in the busy schedule when three of the station's

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crew members departed the station aboard a Russian Soyuz and

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returned to Earth on May 23.

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It marked the only time a Soyuz departed the station while a space shuttle was docked.

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The following day, the remaining combined crew of nine had time to complete some

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interior maintenance around the station.

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The third spacewalk was once again conducted by the team of Fincke and Feustel.

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Performing a number of tasks in just short of seven hours, the spacewalkers left the

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Canadarm2 closer to having a new base of operation which will give it access to much of

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the orbiting laboratory's Russian segment.

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After the docked inspection and clearance for Endeavour from Houston,

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the fourth and last spacewalk was conducted by Chamitoff and Fincke.

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The outing marked the final spacewalk by space shuttle crew members.

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Among the tasks in their almost seven-and-a-half hour work, the spacewalkers attached

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the shuttle's boom sensor to the station -- making it the final major U.S. piece to be added

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to the  orbiting laboratory.

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Greg Chamitoff STS-134 Mission Specialist:"On behalf of the STS-134 crew and the Expedition 27 crew

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space station assembly is complete."

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With construction complete and supplies delivered during 11 days of joint operations,

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the two crews said goodbye and the hatches were closed between the two spacecraft.

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After undocking, the shuttle completed a fly-around, providing amazing images of the

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fully completed station.

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Fincke -- who during the mission became the U.S. astronaut with the most time

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in space -- later described the crew's feelings looking at the completed station

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Mike Fincke STS-134 Mission Specialist: "I think we all should be really impressed how big

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and magnificent that space station is,

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we were impressed; we were exited like five-year olds at a rollercoaster park a mean it was pretty impressive."

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The STS-134 crew performed an additional test of the STORRM equipment during a

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rendezvous exercise before backing away from the station.

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Endeavour's final return to Earth came in the overnight hours, as its ghostly outline -- lit

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by the runway's xenon lights -- appeared out of the darkness at 2:35 a.m. on June 1.

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Mark Kelly STS-134 Commander: "Houston, Endeavour, wheelstop.

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Mission Control: One hundred and twenty-two million miles flown during 25 challenging

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spaceflights, your landing ends a vibrant legacy for this amazing vehicle that will long be

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remembered. Welcome home, Endeavour."

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After 16 days of a demanding and busy mission, the crew members greeted well-wishers

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at the runway and received congratulations for a job well done.

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