Space Shuttle Endeavour launch
Endeavour and a crew of six blasted off on NASA's next-to-last shuttle flight, thundering through clouds into orbit Monday morning.
Section:Picture story
The space shuttle Endeavour is seen on the launch pad before sunrise at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
Morry Gash Associated Press
NASA is winding down its 30-year-old shuttle program before embarking on something new. The liftoff generated the kind of excitement seldom seen on Florida's Space Coast on such a grand scale - despite a delay of more than two weeks from the original launch date because of an electrical problem.
Associated Press
Sunrise turns the sky red behind space shuttle Endeavour a couple of hours before the scheduled launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
J. David Ake Associated Press
Photographers capture sunrise behind space shuttle Endeavour a couple of hours before the scheduled launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
J. David Ake Associated Press
From right to left: commander Mark Kelly, right, mission specialist, Mike Fincke, pilot Greg H. Johnson, European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori and mission specialist Drew Feustel, leave the operations and check-out building at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Monday May 16, 2011.
Terry Renna Associated Press
"Good stuff, good stuff," Giffords was quoted as saying by her chief of staff as Endeavour took flight for the final time. Husband Mark Kelly, the shuttle's skipper, had red tulips presented to her afterward. She wore his wedding ring on a silver chain while he carried hers with him.
Associated Press
STS-134 commander Mark Kelly, front, waves a he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building with fellow crew members, including Mike Fincke, for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on the space shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
Chris O’Meara Associated Press
Space Shuttle Endeavour is seen on pad 39A as the sun rises at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Monday May 16, 2011.
John Raoux Associated Press
Monday's countdown was close to perfect, and the shuttle quickly disappeared into thin, low clouds.
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011. The space shuttle Endeavour began a 14-day mission to the international space station.
John Raoux Associated Press
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
Morry Gash Associated Press
Space shuttle Endeavour clears the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
Chris O’Meara Associated Press
As of Monday, Endeavour had logged more than 116 million miles, circled Earth some 4,500 times, spent 283 days in space and carried 170 people, including the last two people to fly a space shuttle for the first time.
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
Terry Renna Associated Press
Photographers capture the launch of space shuttle Endeavour at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
J. David Ake Associated Press
Adam Wheeler, 8, Ryan Wheeler, 11, Debbie Wheeler, and Pegy Looten holding Erin Wheeler, all from Bowie, Md., watch space shuttle Endeavour after its launch from the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
Julie Fletcher Associated Press
"That was four seconds of cool," said Manny Kariotakis, who was visiting from Montreal. The 50-year-old day care owner got goosebumps watching the liftoff with thousands along Highway 1 in Titusville.
Associated Press
Space shuttle Endeavour leaves a smoke trail as it flies off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
Tim Donnelly Associated Press
Space shuttle Endeavour leaves a smoke trail as it soars toward the sky after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
Chris O’Meara Associated Press
Spectators watch the space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
Terry Renna Associated Press
Space shuttle Endeavour flies past the US Flag after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
John Raoux Associated Press
Advance estimates had put Monday's crowd at 500,000, more than the number that saw Discovery's final hurrah in February. Across the Indian River in Titusville, though, the number of spectators appeared to be down compared with Endeavour's previous launch attempt on a Friday afternoon.
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
Chris O’Meara Associated Press
Photographers capture the launch of space shuttle Endeavour at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
Chris O’Meara Associated Press
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 16, 2011.
John Raoux Associated Press
Norm Meyer, of Conifer, Colo, lines up his binoculars to watch space shuttle Endeavour launch at the Kennedy Space Center from Titusville, Fla. Monday, May 16, 2011.
Jason Greene Associated Press
Endeavour and its experienced crew of five Americans and an Italian are headed for the International Space Station. They will arrive at the orbiting outpost Wednesday, delivering a $2 billion magnetic instrument that will seek out antimatter and dark energy in the universe.
Associated Press
Photographers capture space shuttle Endeavour as it pierces the clouds and disappears after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011.
Daytona Beach News-Journal, Craig Rubadoux Associated Press
People line the beach north of the pier to watch the last launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, Monday morning, May 16, 2011, in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Daytona Beach News-Journal, JIm Tiller Associated Press
This is the 25th and final flight of Endeavour, the baby of NASA's shuttle fleet. It was built to replace Challenger, destroyed during liftoff 25 years ago this past January, and made its maiden journey six years later to capture and repair a stranded satellite. That first flight ended 19 years ago Monday. Endeavour carried the first Hubble Space Telescope repair team, which famously restored the observatory's vision in 1993, and the first American piece of the space station in 1998. It will end its days at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
Associated Press