Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew are home after carrying Japan’s maiden space laboratory and a Canadian repair robot to the International Space Station (ISS) on a record-setting mission. Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Centre after a 16-day mission that included a record 12-day docking at the ISS and five spacewalks.
Space shuttle Endeavour headed for home on Wednesday after delivering a Japanese module and a Canadian robot to the International Space Station. Its 16-day mission was scheduled to end with a landing at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 23.05pm GMT, 33 minutes before sundown.
Spacewalking astronauts stashed an inspection boom to the outside of the International Space Station on Saturday to assure the next shuttle crew can scrutinise their ship for damage. Latching the boom to the outside of the station was the primary task of the fifth and final spacewalk conducted by the Endeavour crew.
The United States space shuttle Endeavour blasted off from a seaside Florida launch pad on Tuesday to deliver part of a long-awaited Japanese space laboratory to the International Space Station. Piercing the still of night with a thunderous boom and a flash of white-hot flame, the spaceship lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre at 2.28am local time.