“That journey was just the beginning of Endeavour’s enduring mission to inspire future generations of scientists, engineers and explorers.” “Everyone throughout California, Los Angeles and our local community came together to enthusiastically welcome home our national treasure,” he said. Photo credit: NASA/Jim GrossmannĬelebrating the 10th anniversary of Endeavour’s premiere, California Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph reflected on the excitement associated with the Space Shuttle’s arrival. Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, center, uses a “T”-shaped tool to lock the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s hatch as United Space Alliance technicians Gary Hamilton, left, and Joe Walsh assist. Visit for complete coverage of Endeavour's final mission STS-134 or follow us and on Facebook. You can follow Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter. The three working orbiters, plus the test vehicle Enterprise, will then begin the next phase of their lives on display at museums around the country. NASA has one more shuttle mission planned – the STS-135 flight of Atlantis in July – before the program is officially retired. I can't believe, that was so surreal how wonderful that was." We just landed a few hours ago and I'm still just basking in it. I mean, can you believe that? It was so incredible. I still have that t-shirt, and you know, childhood dreams don't always come true, and sometimes your life comes in, but man, this dream – the reality was better than the dream. "I made a t-shirt with the space shuttle on it with markers because they weren't out in stores yet. It wasn't even built yet – it was still in planning." "It was everything I dreamed of when I was that 8- or 9-year-old that wanted to fly on this new space shuttle thing. "Getting a chance to fly on the space shuttle was a dream of mine, and I couldn't have asked to do it with a better group of guys here on our crew, and couldn't have asked for a better ground support team," Fincke said. Having the opportunity to fly a shuttle mission, particularly one of the last missions of the program, was a dream come true, he said. Previously, Fincke served two long duration stints onboard the International Space Station, both times launching to the station on a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft. Endeavour's final flight was his first aboard one of NASA's space shuttles. astronaut during Endeavour's STS-134 mission. So, I'll remember them more than anything."įincke, a veteran spaceflyer, set a new record for the number of days spent in space by a U.S. It makes my job a lot easier to have guys like this on this crew. This stuff is really difficult, and to do it with a group of people that are just so accomplished and so experienced makes it very easy for me. "With a 16-day flight, we've got a lot of great stories that we'll be telling for a long time," Kelly said. Johnson and mission specialists Mike Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and Roberto Vittori. (Image credit: NASA)Īs for the completed mission, Kelly said his fondest memories will be of his five crewmates: pilot Greg H. The six-man crew of space shuttle Endeavour discusses the last flight of the shuttle with reporters for one last time on before returning to Earth. "We're all looking forward to spending time with our families." "What am I going to say to her? I really miss her and can't wait to get back there tomorrow to see her," Kelly said. Kelly said that the shuttle's night landing and the challenging nature of her recovery were the main reasons why Giffords did not travel to Florida for her husband's homecoming. I actually sent her mother an email and said, the first thing I do when I leave this press conference, let me know if she's awake and I'm going to call her." "She's in the hospital, and I don't want to wake her up. "I haven't spoken to her yet because she's probably still sleeping," Kelly said. According to Kelly, the surgery went well, and he's looking forward to seeing her in person soon. While Kelly was in space, Giffords underwent cranioplasty surgery to install a plastic implant to a section of her skull. Giffords had recovered enough to travel to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to see her husband launch on Endeavour's last mission. For Kelly, his return to Earth means a much anticipated reunion with his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who has been recovering from a gunshot wound to the head that she received in a failed assassination attempt in January.
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