Shuttle Endeavor docks at International Space Station
May 18th, 2011 - 10:28 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattNew York, May 18 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The US space shuttle Endeavour docked at the International Space Station on Wednesday morning. The shuttle which is on its last mission to space blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Endeavour is on a 16-day mission to space. The mission is being commanded by Mark Kelly who is the husband of injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. NASA has announced that there will be a total of four spacewalks during the mission. The astronauts are going to install a mega instrument in space in the current mission.
Scientists in their bid to understand how the universe was formed have developed the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2. The device which cost $2 billion to manufacture will examine particles in space in a bid to detect antimatter and dark matter. The device weighs 7,000 kilograms and will be in space for the next decade.
The Endeavour is expected back on earth on the 1st of June after leaving the International Space Station on the 30th of May. By the end of this year, Russia will provide the only means to get to the International Space Station. The United States have announced that the space shuttle program will shut down after the mission by Atlantis which is expected to take place later this year.
- Space shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth after final mission - Jun 01, 2011
- NASA's space shuttle Endeavour docks with International Space Station - May 19, 2011
- NASA's space shuttle Endeavour prepares to leave space station, return to Earth - May 29, 2011
- NASA sets space shuttle Endeavour's final launch for April 29 - Apr 20, 2011
- NASA delays shuttle Endeavour's launch - Apr 30, 2011
- NASA's space shuttle Endeavour ends final mission - Jun 01, 2011
- NASA delays Endeavour launch again - May 02, 2011
- Weather 70 percent 'go' for space shuttle Endeavour launch - Apr 29, 2011
- NASA calls off Endeavour launch attempt due to technical problem - Apr 30, 2011
- US shuttle Endeavor lifts off for final voyage - May 16, 2011
- US shuttle Atlantis lifts off for final journey - May 15, 2010
- Astronaut Mark Kelly to resume NASA mission training - Feb 05, 2011
- Atlantis docks for last time with International Space Station - Jul 11, 2011
- NASA invites 150 Twitter followers to Endeavour launch - Apr 26, 2011
- Shuttle Endeavour lands safely - Jun 01, 2011
Tags: astronauts, atlantis, congresswoman gabrielle giffords, dark matter, docks, gabrielle giffords, international space station, kennedy space center, kilograms, magnetic spectrometer, mark kelly, mission scientists, nasa, particles, shuttle endeavor, space shuttle endeavour, space shuttle program, spacewalks, us space shuttle, wednesday morning