STS-134
STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander. STS-134 was expected to be the final Space Shuttle mission if STS-135 did not receive funding from Congress. However, in February 2011, NASA stated that STS-135 would fly "regardless" of the funding situation. STS-135, flown by Atlantis, took advantage of the processing for STS-335, the Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if the STS-134 crew became stranded in orbit.
Endeavour (left) docked to the ISS, viewed from Soyuz TMA-20; AMS-02 is visible as a white box atop the station's truss, between its solar arrays | |
| Names | Space Transportation System-134 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS assembly |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-020A |
| SATCAT no. | 37577 |
| Mission duration | 15 days, 17 hours, 38 minutes, 51 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 10,477,185 km (6,510,221 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Endeavour |
| Launch mass | 2,052,443 kilograms (4,524,863 lb) (total) 121,830 kilograms (268,580 lb) (orbiter) |
| Landing mass | 92,240 kilograms (203,354 lb) |
| Payload mass | 15,770 kilograms (34,760 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | May 16, 2011, 12:56:28 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | June 1, 2011, 06:35 UTC |
| Landing site | Kennedy SLF Runway 15 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 321 kilometres (199 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 343 kilometres (213 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees |
| Period | 91.17 minutes |
| Epoch | May 17, 2011 |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | PMA-2 (Harmony forward) |
| Docking date | May 18, 2011, 10:14 UTC |
| Undocking date | May 30, 2011, 03:55 UTC |
| Time docked | 11 days, 17 hours, 41 minutes |
|
Pictured clockwise in the STS-134 crew portrait are NASA astronauts Mark Kelly (bottom center), commander; Gregory H. Johnson, pilot; Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency's Roberto Vittori, all mission specialists. | |
Changes in the design of the main payload, AMS-02, as well as delays to STS-133, led to delays in the mission. The first launch attempt on April 29, 2011, was scrubbed at 12:20 pm by launch managers due to problems with two heaters on one of the orbiter's auxiliary power units (APU). Endeavour launched successfully at 08:56:28 EDT (12:56:28 UTC) on May 16, 2011, and landed for the final time on June 1, 2011.