It was amazing.'Įven after 19 years of space travel, Endeavour is the baby of NASA's shuttle fleet, literally risen from the ashes. I couldn't take any pictures or tweet during the launch. 'It was just so emotional,' said Lisa Bain of Meridian, Ohio. I haven't felt anything like that before,' said Brittany Gibson of Huntsville, Ala., after the shuttle disapeared into the sky. 'The feeling of it taking off was amazing. Half a million people are estimated to have crowded around the Kennedy Space Center to see Endeavour launch on a 16-day flight to the International Space Station. He finally said she was in good hands and wanted him to go. For a time after the Tucson shooting, in which six people died and 14, including Giffords, were injured, it was possible he would not be able to fly and attend to his wife at the same time. Her brush with death, and Kelly's devotion to her, gave him a degree of fame few other modern astronauts have had, and which he never sought. 'All we hope for at this point is that she makes a strong recovery and is able to return to her regular life.' 'She's making daily progress since her injury,' said her Congressional chief of staff, Pia Carusone, in an interview with ABC News after they got here. She also had a note to him snuck into the shuttle, for him to read on board. He wore hers into space, while she will keep his until he returns from space.

While doctors say Giffords is recovering steadily, it is a slow process.ĪBC News has been told Kelly had a last private moment with his wife on Sunday, and they swapped wedding rings. She was joined by the families of the other astronauts, but for them it was an intensely private experience. Giffords, according to her staff, watched the launch from the roof of the control center three miles from Pad 39A. Only one more shuttle flight, by the orbiter Atlantis in July, is on NASA's launch manifest. And Endeavour will never again leave for space. Gabrielle Giffords, who was so badly wounded in that January 8 shooting in Tucson. Astronaut Kelly, in the most spectacular way, got to put on a show for his wife, Rep. It was a dramatic goodbye in more than one way. ET, and was in orbit eight minutes later. Come relive these amazing moments-or experience them for the first time! Mission 26: The Big Endeavour is on display inside Creative World on the second floor.KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida, — - The space shuttle Endeavour took off on its final flight into a cloud-dappled sky this morning, with its crew of six astronauts, led by commander Mark Kelly. Mission 26: The Big Endeavour features photographs highlighting some of the spectacular scenes witnessed during space shuttle Endeavour's flight over California and her 12-mile, 68-hour journey. Photographers and filmmakers were on hand to document this once-in-forever moment in history. Police controlled traffic and engineers and technicians lifted power lines and took down traffic lights while approximately 1.5 million people lined the sidewalks to celebrate the event. At 78 feet wide, 57 feet high and 122 feet long-longer than two school buses-navigating Endeavour down the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood required the guidance and skill of over 100 people. After arrival, Endeavour honored many California landmarks as it flew over the state from Sacramento to Southern California, while onlookers marveled at the sight all along the way.Īfter landing at Los Angeles International Airport, the biggest adventure was yet to come-transporting Endeavour through the heart of urban Los Angeles to its new home in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion at the California Science Center. Endeavour first flew on the back of a Boeing 747 from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Edwards Air Force Base in California, while making several stops along the way. Moving space shuttle Endeavour across the United States was a massive undertaking.

Space shuttle endeavour