Space Shuttle Endeavour is the fifth and final operational shuttle built for NASA’s space shuttle program. It flew its first mission in May 1992, and its last mission 19 years later. Congress approved the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace the Challenger, which exploded after launch the year before, killing all seven crew members including teacher Christa McAuliffe. At the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, opening Nov. 13 at the California Science Center, Endeavour is displayed for the first time ever in launch position. Here are some facts to know about this unique L.A.eye candy.
Students chose Endeavour’s name in 1988, after a British Royal Navy ship.
Endeavour orbited the Earth 4,671 times and traveled more than 122 million miles, which is about the same distance from Earth to Mars.
Endeavour played host to two important firsts in the American space program. The first Black American woman to travel to space, Mae Jemison, did so on Endeavour as a science mission specialist in 1992 alongside the first Japanese astronaut, Mamoru Mohri, who served as a payload specialist.
Endeavour weighs about 178,000 pounds, similar to the average adult male blue whale.
The temperature surrounding Endeavour during entry could rise up to about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, it stayed a comfortable 75 degrees inside the flight deck.
Endeavour was thirsty: The shuttle’s three main engine fuel pumps could drain an average residential swimming pool in 25 seconds, and suck up about 800 gallons per second.
Endeavour is a SoCal native and was built in Palmdale.
To pilot Endeavour, you‘d have to have a memory like a steel trap. Endeavour’s flight deck is covered with more than 2,000 buttons and switches — and astronauts learned what every single one does.
Endeavour operated on its own for at least 90 seconds after launch. Then the crew could squeeze a trigger to take over manual control. But that lasted only 30 seconds until the solid rocket boosters separated off.
If something went wrong, astronauts could use a rotary switch in the cockpit to select the type of abort they needed.
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