The crew, known as Crew-2, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday on a SpaceX Dragon vehicle, dubbed the Endeavor, after a fiery re-entry through Earth's atmosphere.
A replacement crew could return to the space station as soon as Wednesday. The crew and spacecraft spent days in space and the Endeavor set a record for an aircraft staying in orbit, according to SpaceX. The crew that will replace Crew-2, known as Crew-3, will spend a similarly long six-month stint in space. During their time aboard the International Space Station, Crew-2 worked on science and maintenance duties and carried out scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, said NASA.
The main engines are part of the orbiter. All the components were reusable except for the external tank, which by design burned up in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean following each launch. Built to replace space shuttle Challenger , Endeavour was the final orbiter to join the shuttle fleet. Many newer features were added to Endeavour during construction, such as updated steering mechanisms, upgraded plumbing and electrical connections to allow for longer missions, and a drag chute that reduced wear and tear on the shuttle's brakes and tires.
Many of the innovations that were developed for Endeavour were added later to the other shuttles in the fleet. Endeavour first launched on May 7, for mission STS The capture of the satellite did not go as smoothly as planned, but the crew aboard was able to complete the mission through a series of four spacewalks—the most ever completed on a shuttle mission up to that time. One of the spacewalks was the longest ever recorded up to that time, and the second-longest ever—over eight hours!
That first mission set a precedent for Endeavour , whose string of 25 missions was marked with ingenuity and success. This mission was designed to correct a flaw in the Hubble's main mirror. Endeavour's first flight was a challenging one. The crew members of STS , when they rocketed to space on May 7, , were supposed to capture a satellite that was stuck in the wrong orbit, rescue it and loft it again into space.
Crew members reached the Intelsat VI satellite successfully, but ran into a snag when they needed to attach a "capture bar" onto the satellite to bring it into the shuttle.
Dangling on the end of the Canadarm, Pierre Thuot tried to attach the bar to the satellite. But as he touched it, Intelsat drifted away. More attempts the next day were also unsuccessful. NASA then came up with a new, riskier procedure to bring the satellite into the payload bay. For the first time, three astronauts did a spacewalk at the same time.
Thuot rode the Canadarm again as Richard Hieb and Thomas Akers attached themselves to the payload bay. Then, the crew members inside the shuttle maneuvered Atlantis to just below where Intelsat spun. Carefully, with Thuot giving hand gestures as instructions to the astronauts inside the shuttle, the Canadarm was maneuvered to a spot where Thuot, Hieb and Akers could all grasp the satellite and successfully install the capture bar.
It was a remarkable maneuver considering how little room there was for error in moving the Canadarm and Thuot near the shuttle's payload bay. The astronauts equipped Intelsat VI with a new "kick motor" and sent it on its way. The communications satellite successfully entered geosynchronous orbit and started service in time for the Summer Olympics. Endeavour was also the shuttle that ferried the first Hubble Space Telescope repair crew.
Astronauts on STS fitted Hubble with adaptive optics to correct a faulty mirror, installed new solar arrays and swapped out other telescope components. The December mission had five spacewalks in five days, with more than 35 hours outside.
NASA says it was one of the most challenging spacewalks in the history of the space program. The shuttle program is best remembered for launching satellites, visiting Mir and building the International Space Station. However, there were thousands upon thousands of hours of science performed during the program. Endeavour's crews took part in a lot of that. In , Endeavour flew a pair of Space Radar Laboratory missions.
NASA wanted to take high-quality radar images of the Earth to learn how the environment was changing, particularly focusing on those areas affected by climate change. The images also produced some unique applications.
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