Where The Wind Blows
Wreathed in her own launch plume, space shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the final launch of her career, hauling the US $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. After landing, she’ll be processed and turned over to the California Science Center for permanent display.
Infrared Preview
An infrared view of the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour, as seen from the dike road at Kennedy Space Centre. The External Tank turns white in infrared, harking back to the early days of the Program when the ET was originally painted white. This is an unfinished image, the final image processed from RAW […]
Orbit, Ho!
Riding 30 stories of fire, twin solid rocket boosters propel space shuttle Endeavour toward low earth orbit on the final launch of her career, and the penultimate launch of the entire Program.
Cloudburst
Space shuttle Endeavour disappears into the clouds 22 seconds after liftoff, seen across the water from the Banana Creek viewing site.
Across The Pond
Space shuttle Endeavour streaks toward the clouds as photographed by a remote camera set up on Kennedy Space Centre’s dike road.
Launch of STS-134 (audio)
[audio:STS-134.mp3] Launch of space shuttle Endeavour, as recorded at the busy Banana Creek viewing site. From this distance, Endeavour is already well into her roll program before the sound of launch completely overwhelms the microphone. Note: if the audio player doesn’t appear, click the title (Launch of STS-134) to view the actual post.
Mark Kelly
Endeavour’s commander Mark Kelly says a few words after arriving at the Kennedy Space Centre for the second launch attempt.
Flag Forward
Endeavour’s flag flies proudly over Launch Complex 39A. This is actually a fairly difficult shot to get, 95% of the time the wind blows the flag backwards.
STS-134 RSS Rollback (timelapse)
The Rotating Service Structure is rolled back from space shuttle Endeavour for the first launch attempt, revealing the youngest orbiter in the fleet over the course of 45 minutes (click the play button to view the timelapse).
Belly of the Beast
Waiting for launch of space shuttle Endeavour, a tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility takes the wideangle lens underneath space shuttle Discovery, her thermal protection tiles stretching off to the distant nose gear.
A Dangerous Cloud 9
A partially submered American alligator waits for prey in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.
Archie’s Pastels
An iridescent dragonfly alights on a small branch in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.
Softshell Schnozz
A softshell turtle relaxes on land on the Maritime Hammock Trail of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.
Backlit Display
A brown anole does its best to ward off the photographer on the Maritime Hammock Trail of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.
Ibis Whites
An American White Ibis wades on the shores of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
A Xenon Endeavour
Space shuttle Endeavour, shortly after rollback of the Rotating Service Structure, sits bathed in Xenon lights for the final time.
A Difficult Endeavour I
Beautiful weather never looked so bad. The skies are clear, the capricious winds are calm, ocean waves lap gently at the beach. The madding crowds have departed, an estimated 750,000 had descended on Cocoa Beach and Titusville to see one last launch. Gone are the lightning storms and wildfires of the last few days, remnants […]