Endeavor on the launch pad

The US Space and Aeronautics Agency (NASA) has just completed moving Endeavor into its launch pad, starting the first space shuttle mission this year and also one of the last five space shuttle flights. when the fleet expires, according to Reuters.

The mission of Endeavor in February is one of the shuttle fleet's last five flights - Photo: Reuters

The Endeavor was transferred by NASA engineers from the engine assembly plant to the launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida (USA), after more than 6 hours 20 minutes of traveling over a distance of 5.47 km in one cold morning with negative temperature of 2 degrees Celsius (morning of June 1, 2010, local time).

In the mission scheduled to begin at 4:39 am on the next morning (local time), Endeavor will provide assembly for the International Space Station (ISS), a gateway called Tranquility Node 3, a model. -un Cupola has 7 windows to be able to observe the 360-degree space station, used as a center to control robots .

Endeavor astronauts on the mission of STS-130 number will consist of 6 people. Among them, the flight commander is astronaut George Zamka (48), pilot is Terry Virts (43), the rest are Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire (female). .

As planned, Endeavor crews will have three space walks to assemble new equipment into the station while performing station maintenance.

Endeavor on the launch pad - Photo: Reuters

It is known that Endeavor flight is NASA's first space shuttle mission this year.

This was also one of the last five flights before NASA terminated the shuttle fleet (currently including 3 Endeavor, Discovery, Atlantis) in September this year. It was also the time when the International Space Station valued at US $ 100 billion with the cooperation of 16 completed countries.

Now NASA is accelerating the completion of its new generation spacecraft called Orion in the Constellation program, hoping it can help Americans return to the Moon and beyond to bring people. to Mars.

During the period from September 2010 to 2015 - the time when the Orion ship was expected to be operational, American astronauts' flights to ISS were due to the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Space station worth $ 100 billion near completion - Photo: Reuters