Endeavour Lifts Off on its Final Mission

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 this morning. 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 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 the shuttle Endeavour.



You can follow several of the STS-134 crew members on Twitter:

• Mark Kelly - @ShuttleCDRKelly
• Greg Johnson - @Astro_Box
• Mike Fincke - @AstroIronMike
• Greg Chamitoff - @Astro_Taz