Space Shuttle Endeavour was the fifth and final operational shuttle built as part of NASA’s Space Shuttle programme. During its nearly two decades of active duty from May 1992 to May 2011, Endeavour embarked on 25 successful missions

NASA decided to have a competition for U.S. schools to name the shuttle while it was still under construction. As the shuttle had to be named after an “exploratory or research sea vessel”, a large number of entries chose the same name: Endeavour. The Endeavour was an 18th-Century British vessel best-known for its maiden voyage during which Captain James Cook charted the South Pacific and commanded the vessel to Tahiti to watch the transit of Venus across the sun.

Endeavour’s last space mission reached orbit on May 16, 2011. In its nearly two decades of active service, Endeavour performed 25 missions, clocking nearly 300 days in space.

Retired space shuttle Endeavour went on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, 2012, and remains a popular exhibit.

Endeavour with a close look

As there were calls to house the Endeavour permanently, the California Science Center was chosen as the shuttle’s permanent home after retirement. This, however, proved to be a logistical challenge as the Endeavour had to make a 19-km journey by road to get to its new home.

Three Engines of the Space Shuttle

Three Engines of the Space Shuttle

The three Space Shuttle Main Engines, in conjunction with the Solid Rocket Boosters, provided the thrust to lift the Orbiter off the ground for the initial ascent. The main engines continue to operate for 8.5 minutes after launch, the duration of the Shuttle's powered flight.

Heat shield tiles below wing

Endeavour is covered by more than 24,000 of the six- by six-inch blocks of heat shield. Most of the tiles are made of silica fibers, which are produced from high-grade sand. Silica is an excellent insulator because it transports heat slowly

Heat Shield tiles

The Space Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS) is the barrier that protect the Space Shuttle Orbiter from the searing 1,650 °C heat during atmospheric reentry.

Endeavour Main Engine

Each Space Shuttle Main Engine operates on a liquid oxygen/ liquid hydrogen mixture ratio of 6 to 1 to produce a sea level thrust of 179,097 kilograms (375,000 pounds) and a vacuum thrust of 213,188 (470,000 pounds).

Endeavour Main Engine

Endeavour Main Engine

Throttle of space shuttle engine

Throttle of space shuttle engine

Throttle of space shuttle engine

The space shuttle tires

The space shuttle tires are filled with nitrogen (as are most aircraft tires) due to its stability at different altitudes and temperatures. Due to extremely heavy loads, these bias ply tires are inflated to 340 psi (main gear) and 300 psi (nose gear).

The space shuttle tires

Surprisingly, a space shuttle tire is not much larger than a truck tire, but a main landing gear tire can carry three times the load of a Boeing 747 tire... all hitting the pavement at up to 250 miles per hour.

Space Shuttle Toilet

The major difference between using the restroom on Earth and in space is gravity, so the Space Shuttle toilet is designed to work even while in microgravity.

NASA's space shuttle Endeavour mission control Room

NASA's space shuttle Endeavour mission control Room