Why is endeavor the last space shuttle

Skip to content. Sign in My Account Subscribe. The Atlantic Crossword. The Print Edition. Latest Issue Past Issues. Only through November Try subscriber newsletters for free. Hints: View this page full screen. Most Recent. Newsletter Signup I want to receive updates from partners and sponsors. Back to Top. Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement — Spectators watch as Discovery passes over the Steven F.

Udvar-Hazy Center on Tuesday. Endeavour shuttle piggybacks Photos: Photos: Enterprise in the Big Apple. The shuttle is on its way to the USS Intrepid Museum, where it will be on display aboard the former aircraft carrier. The shuttle was flown into JFK on the back of a on April The Enterprise was never launched into space. Shuttle Enterprise in the Big Apple — A giant crane carefully swings the Enterprise from the barge that transported it down the Hudson River toward the Intrepid.

All four shuttles have been permanently retired from service. NASA said Endeavour will be moved via roads on October to its final spot at the science museum. On Thursday, it flew low over Tucson, Arizona, where Mark Kelly, who was the commander on the last Endeavour mission, watched with his wife, former U. His wife had watched the launch of his mission but missed the landing, so it was great for her to see the shuttle in the air, he added. Two other shuttles -- Challenger and Columbia -- were destroyed in accidents that killed all aboard.

Challenger exploded shortly after launch in , and Columbia broke apart upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in Touring space shuttle Endeavour Photos: Photos: Discovery flies into retirement. Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement — Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a shuttle carrier aircraft, goes by the Washington Monument during a flyover of the nation's capital on its trip to retirement Tuesday, April Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement — Discovery and its jumbo jet carrier pass over the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly, Virginia, on Tuesday.

The shuttle will be removed from the modified jet and star as the guest of honor at a four-day celebration punctuated by a ceremony Thursday formally welcoming Discovery to the Smithsonian collection. Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement — The shuttle carrier aircraft, carrying Discovery, prepares to land at Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday in Chantilly, Virginia. The space shuttle Enterprise, which has been on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F.

Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement — Schoolchildren on a tour watch as Discovery flies over the U. Capitol on Tuesday. Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement — Discovery makes a low pass over the Washington, D. Udvar-Hazy Center on Tuesday in Chantilly. Space shuttle Discovery flies into retirement — Shuttle Discovery flies past the U. The particle physics detector will measure high-energy cosmic rays, and search for signs of antimatter and mysterious dark matter in the universe.

The crew performed four spacewalks to make upgrades to the station. The fourth and final outing marked the final spacewalk ever taken by members of a shuttle crew. On its last trip into space, the orbiter tacked more than 6 million miles onto its odometer, bringing the shuttle's total distance travelled to over million miles.

NASA has one final shuttle mission planned before its year space shuttle program is retired for good. Earlier tonight, Atlantis made its final slow crawl to the launch pad in advance of its targeted launch on July 8.