Dubbed STS-134, the mission, which was delayed because of a malfunction in one of the power units at the end of April, will last 14 days. The shuttle will carry with it to the International Space Station spare parts, supplies and a $2 billion astrophysics experiment.
UPDATE: ENDEAVOR TAKES OFF ON FINAL FLIGHT
After landing, the space shuttle will follow the same route as the Discovery: from the tarmac, to the hangar, and then to the museum, to be on display for future generations. In Endeavor's case, to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
This is Endeavor's 25th flight into space. The shuttle was the fifth one built for NASA, meant to replace the Challenger, which was destroyed soon after take-off due to the failure of an O-ring on its right solid-fuel rocket booster on January 28, 1986. 2011 marks the end of the space shuttle program, with the last of the surviving shuttles, the Atlantis, scheduled to make its final trip later in the year.
"The space shuttle program, I think, will definitely be remembered for the amazing things that it has done," said mission specialist Michael Fincke according to Space.com. "Everything that we’ve learned along the way, all the technology, all of the science that we’ve been able to bring in in these past years with the space shuttle, I think, is going to be remembered very nicely in the history books."
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