Special Edition: Welcome Home Endeavour!

The noble ship Endeavour first launched from planet Earth on May 7, 1992.

Credit: NASA

Credit: NASA

On that first mission, three intrepid astronauts stepped out into space and caught a 4.5 ton satellite that had fallen out of its proper orbit.

Credit: NASA

The astronauts replaced the satellite’s motor and sent it rocketing back to the correct orbit, where it relays thousands of telephone calls  and 3 television stations.

Credit: NASA

Twenty-five flights later, Endeavour docked with the International Space Station for the last time.

Credit: NASA

It delivered an exciting new scientific instrument called the AMS, aka the ‘Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’.  Sponsored by the US Department of Energy, 16 nations worked together to build and now operate the AMS which will help us understand really cool stuff like anti-matter, dark matter, and cosmic rays.

Credit: NASA

After completing its 16 day mission, Endeavour said good bye to the Space Station and took this parting photograph.

Before sunrise yesterday morning, June1, 2011, Endeavor touched down at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

So long, Endeavour.  Glad we knew you.  Don’t worry.  Lots of us will visit you in your new home at the California Science Center.

Space Bloggers, don’t you worry either. Space Game will continue next Tuesday when we will finally answer the question:  Where in the Solar System is Destination Seven???