Space Shuttle Endeavour Lifts Off on its Last Mission

(NASA Television) - The STS-134 crew led by Commander Mark Kelly are on their way to the International Space Station after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 8:56 a.m. EDT Monday, May 16. The crew of Kelly, pilot Greg Johnson, mission specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and critical supplies to the space station. The supplies include two communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional parts for the Dextre robot. The AMS is a particle physics detector designed to search for various types of unusual cosmic matter. The crew also will transfer Endeavour's orbiter boom sensor system, where it could assist spacewalkers as an extension for the station's robotic arm. The STS-134 mission is the next-to-last for the Space Shuttle Program and the final one for shuttle Endeavour.