On this day in 2012, NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour arrived at the California Space Center after a 12-mile journey from the Los Angeles International Airport. Officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), the Endeavor was one of four fully-capable space shuttles operated by NASA (Space Shuttle Enterprise, the fifth space shuttle, was a prototype).
The first space shuttle to be delivered to NASA was the Columbia, delivered in 1979. Space Shuttle Endeavor was the last space shuttle to be delivered, arriving at NASA in 1991.
The space shuttles were the first orbital spacecraft designed for reuse. All of the shuttles had important mission from launching and maintaining satellites to transporting astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.
Here are a few more facts about Space Shuttle Endeavour:
- Number of space missions: 25 from May 1992 to May 2011
- Total miles traveled: 122,883,151
- Total Time in space: 299 days
- Key Mission: Repairing the Hubble Space Telescope in December 1993
