Note: NASA has targeted the launch for Endeavour's STS-134 mission for 3:47 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29 due to a scheduling conflict with a Russian Progress supply vehicle scheduled to launch April 27 and arrive at the station April 29.
STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6) is a mission of the Space Shuttle
Endeavour to visit the International Space Station, targeted originally for July...
[read more] Note: NASA has targeted the launch for Endeavour's STS-134 mission for 3:47 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29 due to a scheduling conflict with a Russian Progress supply vehicle scheduled to launch April 27 and arrive at the station April 29.
STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6) is a mission of the Space Shuttle
Endeavour to visit the International Space Station, targeted originally for July 29th, then for November 2010, then to February 27, 2011 - now to not earlier as April 29, 2011.
NASA is planning to make some changes to the target launch dates for the last two scheduled space shuttle flights. Scientists with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, program recently decided to change out the current magnet in the particle physics experiment module that will be attached to the International Space Station to a longer lasting one. This will take advantage of NASA's plan to extend station operations until at least 2020.
Because of the magnet change, space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission, which will carry the AMS experiment to the station and was targeted to launch July 29, now is expected to launch no earlier than April 29, 2011.
The AMS is designed to help study the formation of the universe and search for evidence of dark matter and antimatter by measuring cosmic rays.
This flight will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and the third ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station.
The mission will mark the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour and will be the penultimate flight of the Space Shuttle Program.
Background
The Space Shuttle had been scheduled to be retired from service after STS-133, but controversy over the cancellation of several International Space Station components, most notably the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, in order to meet deadlines for the retirement of the shuttle, caused the United States Government to consider ordering an additional mission. On June 19, 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed the NASA Authorization Act of 2008, giving NASA funding for one additional mission to "deliver science experiments to the station".
The same mandate was included in the U.S. Senate version of the NASA Authorization Act that was unanimously approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on June 25, 2008. It was amended and passed by the full Senate on September 25, 2008, passed by the House on September 27, 2008, and signed by President George W. Bush on October 15, 2008. Bush had previously opposed any additional shuttle missions, as they could delay the transition to Project Constellation.In the spring of 2009, the Obama Administration included funds for the STS-134 mission in its proposed 2010 NASA budget.
The primary payload will be the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.
STS-134's LON mission, a contingency mission to rescue a stranded STS-134 crew, would be the STS-133 flight.
Mission payload
* Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 (AMS-02)
* ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 3 (ELC3)
* Materials on International Space Station Experiment 8 (MISSE 8)
* Orion Rendezvous Detailed Test Objective (DTO) kit
* GLACIER freezer module
* Remotely Operable Electrical Umbilical-755 (ROEU)
Endeavour will also return the MISSE 7a and 7b experiments to Earth as well as perform four Department of Defense payloads of opportunity: MAUI, SEITI, RAMBO-2, and SIMPLEX.
STS-134 will leave its Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) permanently on the ISS for use in reaching places that the Canadarm2 can't get to on its own. The usefulness of having an OBSS available for use at the station was demonstrated during Scott Parazynski's repair of the torn P6 solar panel on STS-120. The feasibility of leaving an OBSS attached to ISS for a long period of time was demonstrated when the STS-123 mission left it behind for use by STS-124 two months later.
Spacewalks
Three spacewalks (EVAs) are scheduled during the flight. These EVAs are currently scheduled to be the final EVAs conducted by a Shuttle crew since no EVA is foreseen during STS-133.
Crew:
NASA announced the STS-134 crew on August 10, 2009.
Commander: Mark E. Kelly - Fourth spaceflight
Pilot: Gregory H. Johnson - Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1: Michael Fincke - Third spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2: Roberto Vittori, ESA - Third spaceflight
Flight Engineer Mission Specialist 3 Andrew J. Feustel -Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 4: Gregory Chamitoff - Second spaceflight
Roberto Vittori is scheduled to be the last non-US astronaut to fly on the Shuttle.
