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Endeavor Getting Ready for Final Flight

The almost year long end of the space shuttle program, which started with the final landing of the space shuttle Discovery on March 9, will enter a new stage next month, when the take-off of the second shuttle, Endeavor, is scheduled to take place.

The mission, STS-134, will carry into space a crew of six, who will be delivering to the International Space Station (ISS) astrophysics equipment meant to detect cosmic rays. During the mission the astronauts will perform four space walks, meant to upgrade the ISS.

Just as its sister Discovery, the Endeavor will be brought back in shape soon after its final landing, with NASA hoping to pack and send the vehicle to a museum in the US. Discovery is heading, by all accounts, to the Smithsonian, but it appears for the Endeavor, as well as for the Atlantis, the third shuttle, NASA will announce a closed circuit auction of some kind.

"Of course the last flight of each of these vehicles is bittersweet for all of us," Gary Horlacher, lead flight director for Endeavour's last mission told Space.com. "Certainly it's going to be a bittersweet moment to see it back on the runway."

After all the excitement and disappointment caused by the final launch and landing of the Endeavor would have passed, the eyes of the world will turn towards the Atlantis, who will depart, also for the last time, on June 28.

However, the launch of the third shuttle is a bit under the lingering shadow of insufficient funding. Rumors say that NASA might not raise enough money to allow for the launch of the shuttle. Nonetheless, John Shannon, NASA space shuttle program manager, says that the mission is a go.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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