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Endeavour
Part of Shuttle
STS
STS
Credit: NASA
American manned spaceplane. merican manned spaceplane. Built as a replacement after the loss of the Challenger; named after the first ship commanded by James Cook.

AKA: OV-105. Status: Operational 1992. First Launch: 1992-05-07. Last Launch: 2011-05-16. Number: 25 . Payload: 24,990 kg (55,090 lb). Thrust: 53.37 kN (11,997 lbf). Gross mass: 116,277 kg (256,346 lb). Unfuelled mass: 103,865 kg (228,983 lb). Specific impulse: 316 s. Height: 37.24 m (122.17 ft). Span: 23.79 m (78.05 ft).

Empty Weight was 68.574 kg at rollout and 78,000 kg with main engines installed.

During the construction of Discovery and Atlantis, NASA opted to have the various contractors manufacture a set of 'structural spares' to facilitate the repair of an orbiter if one was damaged during an accident. This contract was valued at $389 million and consisted of a spare aft-fuselage, mid-fuselage, forward fuselage halves, vertical tail and rudder, wings, elevons and a body flap. These spares were later assembled into the orbiter Endeavour when the decision was made to build a replacement for Challenger. Endeavour featured new hardware designed to improve and expand orbiter capabilities. Most of this equipment would be incorporated into the other three orbiters during out-of-service major inspection and modification programs. Endeavour's upgrades included:

A 40-foot diameter drag chute that reduced the orbiter's rollout distance by 300 to 600 m.
Plumbing and electrical connections needed for Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) modifications to allow up to 28-day missions.
Updated avionics systems that included advanced general purpose computers, improved inertial measurement units and tactical air navigation systems, enhanced master events controllers and multiplexer-demultiplexers, a solid-state star tracker and improved nose wheel steering mechanisms.
An improved version of the Auxiliary Power Units (APU's) that provided power to operate the Shuttle's hydraulic systems.

Construction Milestones

07/31/87 Contract Award
02/15/82 Start structural assembly of Crew Module (as a structural spare)
09/28/87 Start structural assembly of aft-fuselage
12/22/87 Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman
08/01/87 Start of Final Assembly
07/06/90 Completed Final Assembly
04/25/91 Rollout from Palmdale
05/07/91 Delivery to Kennedy Space Center
04/06/92 Flight Readiness Firing
05/07/92 First Flight (STS-49)

Endeavour underwent its OMDP-1 overhaul from July 1996 to March 1997. The work was shared between Palmdale and Kennedy. Changes included installation of the final configuration ISS airlock and docking system. To reduce weight for ISS missions, most AFRSI insulation blankets on the upper surfaces of the orbiter were replaced with FRSI, lightweight crew seats were installed, the Extended Duration Mission provisions installed during OMDP-1 were removed, and numerous other smaller-scale changes aimed at reducing weight.

Crew Size: 8. Orbital Storage: 30 days. Habitable Volume: 71.50 m3. Structure: 29,658 kg (65,384 lb). Heat shield: 12,100 kg (26,600 lb). Reaction Control System: 2,800 kg (6,100 lb). Recovery Equipment: 4,200 kg (9,200 lb). Navigation Equipment: 2,000 kg (4,400 lb). Electrical Equipment: 7,000 kg (15,400 lb). Communications Systems: 700 kg (1,540 lb). Crew Seats and Provisions: 750 kg (1,650 lb). Miscellaneous Contingency: 2,400 kg (5,200 lb). Environmental Control System: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). RCS Coarse No x Thrust: 38 x 387 N. RCS Fine No x Thrust: 6 x 107 N. RCS specific impulse: 289 sec. RCS total impulse: 9,355 kgf-sec. Spacecraft delta v: 700 m/s (2,290 ft/sec). Electric System: 12,000.00 kWh. Electric System: 14.00 average kW.



Family: Spaceplane, US Rocketplanes. Country: USA. Engines: OME. Spacecraft: ISS, Mir. Flights: STS-49, STS-47, STS-54, STS-57, STS-61, STS-59, STS-68, STS-67, STS-69, STS-72, STS-77, STS-89, STS-88, STS-99, STS-97, STS-100, STS-108, STS-111, STS-113, STS-118, STS-123, STS-126, STS-127, STS-130, STS-134. Launch Vehicles: Space Shuttle. Propellants: N2O4/MMH. Projects: STS. Launch Sites: Cape Canaveral, Cape Canaveral LC39A, Cape Canaveral LC39B. Agency: NASA, North American. Bibliography: 15, 2, 276, 296, 3135, 44, 552, 554, 6, 66, 7, 8.
Photo Gallery

Shuttle Night LaunchShuttle Night Launch
Shuttle Night Launch 2
Credit: © Mark Wade


Shuttle OrbiterShuttle Orbiter
Shuttle Orbiter side view
Credit: © Mark Wade


Shuttle LandingShuttle Landing
Credit: NASA


Shuttle OrbiterShuttle Orbiter
Shuttle Orbiter 2 view
Credit: © Mark Wade



1992 May 7 - . 23:40 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1992 May 11 - . 20:40 GMT - .
1992 May 12 - . 21:05 GMT - .
1992 May 14 - . 21:17 GMT - .
1992 May 15 - .
1992 September 12 - . 14:23 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1993 January 13 - . 13:59 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1993 January 17 - .
1993 June 21 - . 13:07 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1993 June 25 - .
1993 December 2 - . 09:27 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1993 December 5 - . 03:44 GMT - .
1993 December 6 - . 03:29 GMT - .
1993 December 7 - . 03:35 GMT - .
1993 December 8 - . 03:13 GMT - .
1993 December 9 - . 03:30 GMT - .
1994 April 9 - . 11:05 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1994 August 18 - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1994 September 30 - . 11:16 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1995 March 2 - . 06:38 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1995 September 7 - . 15:09 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1995 September 16 - . 08:20 GMT - .
1996 January 11 - . 09:41 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1996 January 15 - . 05:35 GMT - .
1996 January 17 - . 05:40 GMT - .
1996 May 19 - . 10:30 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1996 August 6 - . LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1998 January 23 - . 02:48 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP3. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
1998 December 4 - . 08:35 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP3. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2000 February 11 - . 17:43 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP3. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2000 December 1 - . 03:06 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2001 April 19 - . 18:40 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2001 December 5 - . 22:19 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2002 June 5 - . 21:22 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2002 November 24 - . 00:49 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2004 February 19 - .
Late 2004 - .
April 2005 - .
Early 2006 - .
Summer 2006 - .
Early 2007 - .
2007 August 8 - . 22:36 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2008 March 11 - . 06:28 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2008 November 15 - . 00:55 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2009 July 15 - . 22:03 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2010 February 8 - . 09:14 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
2011 May 16 - . 12:56 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.

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