Best Images from STS-134, Endeavour's Final Mission, Part 1

By Nancy Atkinson - May 26, 2011 at 4:26 PM UTC | Space Exploration
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It's bittersweet: a very successful STS-134 shuttle mission going on right now, but it's the last one ever for space shuttle Endeavour, and the second to the last shuttle mission ever. The best way to savor the mission is to enjoy some of the wonderful images being beamed down from space.

[caption id="attachment_85986" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="This striking image of Endeavour shooting up through the cloud deck was taken from a shuttle training aircraft on May 16, just seconds after Endeavour launched. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85981" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="NASA astronaut Michael Fincke, STS-134 mission specialist, appears delighted that, because of the weightlessness of space, he can renew doing chores which he can't do on Earth, like lifting heavy bags and floating freely at the same time. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85977" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Endeavour approaches the International Space Station. Visible is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer in the payload bay. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85993" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="This is the last time this will be seen in space: Endeavour's wing is photographed from the ISS during the shuttle's approach. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85975" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="This view of the nose, the forward underside and crew cabin of Endeavour was taken by a crew member on board the ISS during a a photo survey of the approaching STS-134 crew, looking for potential problems in the thermal protection system. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85982" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="A careful look at this scene in Earth orbit reveals the International Space Station (ISS) at frame center, as the ISS and Endeavour (partially seen in foreground) prepare to dock. Photo credit: NASA "]

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[caption id="attachment_85983" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="The ISS hovers in the aft flight deck window of space shuttle Endeavour during rendezvous and docking operations. Photo credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85979" align="aligncenter" width="427" caption="Commander Mark Kelly and Greg Johnson looks at the various mission insignias placed in the Unity node of the International Space Station before placing the STS-134 insignia among them. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85990" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Can you find the astronauts in this image? Drew Feustel (top left) and Greg Chamitoff (center left), work during the first EVA of the STS-134 mission. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85980" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="NASA astronauts Michael Fincke (left), STS-134 mission specialist; and Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer pose with their headlights, worn so they can see while working behind a rack on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85985" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="One of the solar array wings on the ISS is backlit by a thin line of Earth's atmosphere. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85987" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Astronauts Andrew Feustel (right) and Michael Fincke work during the STS-134 mission's third spacewalk. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85988" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Shuttle Endeavour docked to the ISS, backdropped by a thinly lit part of Earth's atmosphere and the blackness of orbital nighttime in space. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85991" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori floats through the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station during the STS-134 mission. Credit: NASA"]

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[caption id="attachment_85994" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="How the mission started: Endeavour's final launch on May 16, 2011. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today. "]

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Click on each image to get access to higher resolution images, or see more images at NASA's

Human Spaceflight webpage gallery,

and

NASA's Image of the Day gallery.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com