Image: NASA/Paolo Nespoli
STS-134
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 2011-05-16 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| Launch vehicle | Space Shuttle |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Endeavour (OV-105) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 2011-06-01 |
| Duration | 15 days, 17 hours, 38 minutes |
| Partners | ESA, AMS-02 international collaboration |
Overview
Endeavour's 25th and final voyage carried the most ambitious science payload of the shuttle's station era: the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2, a nearly seven-tonne particle-physics observatory built by an international collaboration led by Nobel laureate Samuel Ting to hunt antimatter and probe dark matter from the station's truss. Commander Mark Kelly led the crew just months after his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, survived an assassination attempt; she watched the 8:56 a.m. EDT launch on 16 May 2011 from Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour docked on 18 May, and the next morning the AMS was robotically hoisted onto the S3 truss, where it began sampling cosmic rays within days — over 100 billion events recorded in the years since. Four spacewalks by Andrew Feustel, Mike Fincke and Greg Chamitoff retrofitted the station for the decade ahead, and the fourth, on 27 May 2011, was the final spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program. The same day, Fincke surpassed Peggy Whitson's record for the most cumulative time in space by a US astronaut, passing 377 days. ESA's Roberto Vittori became the last non-American to fly on a shuttle. Endeavour landed for the final time at 2:35 a.m. EDT on 1 June 2011, closing a career of 4,671 orbits.
Crew
Mark Kelly
Commander
Fourth and final spaceflight; commanded months after his wife Gabrielle Giffords was wounded
Gregory H. Johnson
Pilot
Second spaceflight
Mike Fincke
Mission Specialist
Surpassed the US cumulative time-in-space record during the flight; later flew SpaceX Crew-11
Roberto Vittori
Mission Specialist (ESA)
Last non-US astronaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle
Andrew J. Feustel
Mission Specialist
Performed three of the mission's four spacewalks
Gregory E. Chamitoff
Mission Specialist
Performed two EVAs, including the program's last
Key Milestones
2011-05-16
Endeavour launches on its final flight from pad 39A at 8:56 a.m. EDT
2011-05-18
Docks with the International Space Station
2011-05-19
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 installed on the station's S3 truss
2011-05-22
EVA 2 runs 8 hours 7 minutes — among the longest spacewalks of the station era
2011-05-27
EVA 4 becomes the final spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program; Fincke passes 377 days to set the US time-in-space record
2011-06-01
Endeavour lands for the last time at Kennedy Space Center, 2:35 a.m. EDT
Key Achievements
Delivered and installed the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2, the premier particle-physics experiment on the ISS
Completed the 25th and final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour
Performed the final spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program on 27 May 2011
Mike Fincke set the US record for cumulative time in space, surpassing 377 days
Carried ESA's Roberto Vittori, the last international astronaut to fly on a shuttle
Legacy & Significance
STS-134 retired Endeavour — the orbiter built from Challenger's spare parts — by giving the station its single most important science instrument. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer has since recorded more than a hundred billion cosmic-ray events, publishing measurements of positron excesses that sharpen the search for dark matter; spacewalkers returned in 2019-2020 to replace its cooling pumps and extend its life through the station's final years. The mission's human stories endure too: Mark Kelly's command under extraordinary personal circumstances preceded a US Senate career, while Mike Fincke's record-setting flight bridged eras — he returned to orbit fourteen years later aboard SpaceX's Crew-11. Endeavour now stands as the centerpiece of the California Science Center.
