Looking no worse for wear after flying 122 million miles through space on 25 voyages, the shuttle Endeavour is towed from the runway to the hangar following the spaceship's final mission. Check out our photo gallery!

Signaling the beginning of the end for NASA's storied shuttle program, the Endeavour plunged back to Earth Wednesday, closing out its 25th and final flight and passing the baton to its sistership Atlantis, which was hauled to the launching pad a few hours earlier for blastoff July 8 on the program's final voyage.

Read our full story.

Endeavour now sits just outside Orbiter Processing Facility bay No. 1.

The shuttle is making its way down the tow road that connects the runway to the orbiter processing area near the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Endeavour is being towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility back to the Orbiter Processing Facility where the ship will begin the lengthy process to deconfigure the spaceplane from flight duty and ready it for public display.

The astronauts climbed aboard the AstroVan to head for crew quarters where they will be reunited with family members and have some dinner.

They will spend the day here before returning to Houston for a welcome ceremony at about 4 p.m. local time Thursday at Ellington Field.

The six astronauts have walked down the stairs from the Crew Transport Vehicle for the traditional walkaround look at the space shuttle on the runway. There to greet them is NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, KSC Center Director Bob Cabana, space operations chief Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA shuttle program manager John Shannon, launch director Mike Leinbach, plus other space officials.

Check out our photo gallery of Endeavour streaking to touchdown.

The Mission Control Center in Houston has handed over shuttle Endeavour to the landing convoy at Kennedy Space Center.

"We are very proud of Endeavour's legacy, and this penultimate flight of the space shuttle program once again demonstrated the amazing skill and dedication of our astronauts and the entire workforce," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a post-landing press statement. "As we begin the transition from the shuttle program to the commercial transportation of our crews and cargo, our ability to tackle big challenges remains steadfast and will ensure that NASA reaches even more destinations farther in the solar system."

All six astronauts have exited the space shuttle. They are inside the Crew Transport Vehicle -- a modified airport "People Mover" -- that pulled up to the side hatch for the astronauts to enter. The CTV features beds and comfortable seats for the astronauts to receive medical checks after returning to Earth's gravity from the weightless environment of space.

Commander Mark Kelly has turned the spacecraft over to the astronaut support personnel now aboard the shuttle. He's about to climb out of Endeavour.

The astronauts have completed the post-landing procedures, which have progressed smoothly today.

The astronauts are beginning to egress the orbiter.

The mobile steps have been positioned next to Endeavour's hatch along with the Crew Transport Vehicle for the astronauts to enter.

The orbiter's vent doors are about to be repositioned.

The main engine nozzles have been repositioned, or gimbaled, to the "rain drain" orientation. And now the hydraulics are no longer required, so Endeavour's three Auxiliary Power Units are being shut down.

On the runway, technicians are using instruments to "sniff" the shuttle's exterior to check for any hazardous vapors.

Here are the landing times in Eastern Daylight Time and Mission Elapsed Time:

Main Gear Touchdown
2:34:51 a.m. EDT
MET: 15 days, 17 hours, 38 minutes, 23 seconds

Nose Gear Touchdown
2:35:04 a.m. EDT
MET: 15 days, 17 hours, 38 minutes, 36 seconds

Wheels Stop
2:35:36 a.m. EDT
MET: 15 days, 17 hours, 39 minutes, 8 seconds

The ship's flight computers are transitioning to the OPS-9 software package.

The external tank umbilical doors on the shuttle's belly have been opened and the body flap set by pilot Greg Johnson.

The pyrotechnics for the crew module hatch, landing gear and drag chute have been safed, commander Mark Kelly reports.

The astronauts are beginning standard post-landing activities to safe the spacecraft.

The crew has established radio contact with the landing convoy and began the post-landing procedures on Endeavour.

WHEELS STOP. Swooping out of the nighttime sky to enter homeport a final time, the shuttle Endeavour has safely completed her spaceflight career that covered 25 voyages to Earth orbit.

Endeavour's rich history of service to humanity over 19 years spanned 122,883,151 miles traveled, 4,677 orbits of the planet and 299 days aloft.

The ship's maiden voyage in May 1992 was a dramatic adventure to rescue the wayward Intelsat 603 telecommunications satellite that required the astronauts to improvise with the first-ever three-man spacewalk to manually grab the spacecraft after attempts using a specially-designed capture bar failed to work. The ship also conducted the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing in 1993, one of the stellar achievements for the space program that installed corrective optics to fix the observatory's flawed vision.

Other trips in the 1990s deployed and retrieved satellites, mapped the Earth with radar and scanned the cosmos with payloads carried in the orbiter's cargo bay. She also visited the Russian space station Mir once.

Then Endeavour opened the International Space Station era by launching the first American piece of the outpost -- the Unity connecting node -- to begin orbital construction in December 1998. Subsequent flights by Endeavour would take up the station's initial solar array power tower, all three sections of Canada's robotics including the arm, mobile transporter and Dextre hands, the Japanese science facility's "attic" and "back porch" for research, and the Tranquility utility room with the Cupola.

This 12th mission to the International Space Station by Endeavour finished the American construction efforts, which this ship originally began, by adding the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and a final spare parts deck.

Construction of Endeavour started in September 1987 as a replacement vehicle for Challenger. The spaceplane was rolled out of the Palmdale factory in April 1991. She became NASA's fifth and final operational space shuttle with her inaugural launch a year later.

Once retired from service, Endeavour will be safed and readied for museum display in Los Angeles.

Endeavour is back at the Kennedy Space Center after this final mission that spanned 248 orbits of the planet and 6,510,221 miles.

The orbiter's finale completed orbital construction of the International Space Station by delivering the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a premier scientific instrument to probe the mysteries of physics, and installing another outdoor spare parts pallet to sustain the outpost for years to come.

TOUCHDOWN! Main gear touchdown. Pilot Greg Johnson is putting out the drag chute as commander Mark Kelly brings the nose gear to the surface of Runway 15.

Pilot Greg Johnson is deploying the landing gear. Standing by for touchdown at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.

Wings are level on final approach. Endeavour's final minute of flight.

Altitude 10,000 feet. The shuttle descending at a rate seven times steeper than that of a commercial airliner.

Field in sight. Commander Mark Kelly reports he can see the runway as he guides Endeavour to landing.

The shuttle has passed over the Atlantic and looped around to line up with the runway.

Endeavour traveling 500 mph, some 23,000 feet in altitude.

The shuttle is in the Heading Alignment Cylinder, an imaginary circle to align with Runway 15. Commander Mark Kelly is piloting Endeavour through a 245-degree left overhead turn to loop around for landing on the northwest to southeast runway.

Endeavour is 6.5 miles in altitude.

Commander Mark Kelly has taken manual control of Endeavour for landing.

The twin sonic booms have rumbled across the Kennedy Space Center area, announcing the shuttle's arrival.

Endeavour is 9.2 miles in altitude, 69 miles from the runway.

Endeavour is 14 miles in altitude, 69 miles from the runway, traveling at Mach 1.9.

Endeavour is 16 miles in altitude, 75 miles from the runway, traveling at 1,900 mph.

Endeavour is 20 miles in altitude, 123 miles from the runway.

Eight minutes to go. Air data probes are being deployed from the shuttle's nose to feed air speed, altitude and angle of attack information to the computers for navigation.

Endeavour has reached western Florida to fly near Cape Coral. The flight path will go over Sebring and Kissimmee en route to the Space Coast.

Ten minutes from landing. Endeavour is 26 miles in altitude, 243 miles from the runway, traveling at 4,600 mph.

Now 11 minutes from touchdown. Mission Control computes Endeavour will land 2,700 feet down the runway at 195 knots.

Endeavour is 30 miles in altitude, 360 miles from the runway, traveling at 6,100 mph.

The MILA tracking station at the Cape has acquired Endeavour's signal.

Endeavour is 32 miles in altitude, 460 miles from the runway, traveling at 7,300 mph.

The space shuttle is going just west Cuba as the ground track enters the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.

Endeavour is 35 miles in altitude, 725 miles from the runway, traveling at 10,000 mph.

The orbiter's path is paralleling up the northwestern coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Endeavour is 38 miles in altitude, traveling at 12,000 mph, 1,027 miles from touchdown.

The space shuttle is approaching landfall in the skies over southern Mexico near the border with Guatemala.

Endeavour is 42 miles in altitude, 1,546 miles away from the runway, traveling at 14,000 mph.

Now 20 minutes from landing. Endeavour is 44 miles in altitude, 2,000 miles away from the runway, traveling at 15,000 mph.

Endeavour is experiencing the period of peak heating during re-entry.

Now crossing the equator to the west of the Galapagos Islands.

Endeavour is 45 miles in altitude, 2,900 miles away from the runway, traveling at 16,200 mph.

Time to touchdown now 25 minutes. Endeavour is continuing her plunge over the Pacific Ocean.

The shuttle is in the midst of the four banks to scrub off speed as it descends into the atmosphere. These turns basically remove the energy vehicle built up during launch.

Endeavour is 50 miles in altitude, 3,700 miles away from the runway, traveling at 17,000 mph.

Now 30 minutes from touchdown as Endeavour plunges into the upper atmosphere. The path will take the spacecraft from the Pacific to Florida on a northeasterly trajectory toward the landing site. See ground track.

ENTRY INTERFACE. Endeavour's thermal protection system is feeling heat beginning to build as the orbiter enters the top fringes of the atmosphere -- a period known as entry interface.

The shuttle is flying at Mach 25 with its nose elevated 40 degrees, wings level, at an altitude of 400,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean.

Touchdown remains set for 2:35 a.m. EDT in Florida.

Now 35 minutes left to go. This will be the 77th shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center.

The Florida spaceport's Shuttle Landing Facility was built in 1975. The concrete strip is 300 feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000-foot overruns at each end. The runway is located about three miles northwest of the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building.

Endeavour is targeting Runway 15, which is the northwest to southeast approach. The shuttle will make a 245-degree left overhead turn to align with the runway.

Altitude now 107 miles.

Now 40 minutes to touchdown. Onboard guidance has maneuvered Endeavour from its heads-down, tail-forward position needed for the deorbit burn to the re-entry configuration of heads-up and nose-forward. The nose will be pitched upward 40 degrees. In this new position, the black tiles on the shuttle's belly and the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the wing leading edges and nose cap will shield the spacecraft during the fiery plunge through the Earth's atmosphere with temperatures reaching well over 2,000 degrees F. Endeavour will begin interacting with the upper fringes of the atmosphere above the South Pacific at 2:03 a.m. EDT.

Altitude now 134 miles.

All three Auxiliary Power Units are up and running now for Endeavour's hydraulics.

Altitude now 166 miles.

Down at the Kennedy Space Center, the space shuttle Atlantis is climbing the concrete ramp to the launch pad. Live streaming video.

Now 50 minutes from touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center to conclude Endeavour's flight. The space shuttle is flying south of Australia right now.

Excess propellant reserves in the maneuvering thrusters on the shuttle's nose will be dumped overboard, a process to take 12 seconds.

Sixty minutes to touchdown. Endeavour is maneuvering to the orientation for entry. The shuttle will hit the upper atmosphere at 2:03 a.m.

DEORBIT BURN COMPLETE. Endeavour has successfully completed the deorbit burn for the trip back home. Landing is scheduled for 2:35 a.m. EDT at the Cape to conclude this mission to the space station and Endeavour's final flight.

Both engines continue to fire, each producing about 6,000 pounds of thrust.

DEORBIT BURN IGNITION. Flying upside down and backwards 214 miles above the east-central Indian Ocean, shuttle Endeavour has begun the deorbit burn. The firing of the twin Orbital Maneuvering System engines on the tail of the shuttle will last 2 minutes and 38 seconds, slowing the craft by about 200 mph to slip from orbit. The retro-burn will send Endeavour to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a pinpoint touchdown at 2:35 a.m. EDT.

Endeavour is in the proper configuration for the deorbit burn, Mission Control has confirmed for the crew.

Pilot Greg Johnson is activating one of three Auxiliary Power Units in advance of the burn, now four minutes away. The other two APUs will be started later in the descent to provide pressure needed to power shuttle's hydraulic systems that move the wing flaps, rudder/speed brake, drop the landing gear and steer the nose wheel. NASA ensures that at least one APU is working before conducting to the deorbit burn since the shuttle needs only a single unit to make a safe landing.

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The shuttle is getting maneuvered into the proper orientation for the deorbit burn.

Endeavour now flying 216 miles above Europe for the final time, soon to cross western Russia and India before reaching the point for the deorbit burn over the Indian Ocean.

Endeavour is crossing the North Atlantic on the final orbit of this space shuttle's career before returning home and going into retirement.

Pilot Greg Johnson has completed the OMS engine gimbal check.

The Auxiliary Power Unit prestart is underway by pilot Greg Johnson, putting cockpit switches in the proper position for activating the APUs.

GO FOR THE DEORBIT BURN! The weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center are going to cooperate for landing the space shuttle. Entry flight director Tony Ceccacci in Mission Control just gave final approval for Endeavour to perform the deorbit burn at 1:29:03 a.m. EDT that will commit the spacecraft for the journey back to Earth.

Touchdown in Florida on Runway 15 is set for 2:35 a.m. EDT, completing a mission that delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and Express Logistics Carrier No. 3 to the International Space Station, completing the U.S. assembly efforts after more than a decade of laborious construction.

Just minutes remain until entry flight director Tony Ceccacci will decide whether Endeavour can perform the deorbit burn that puts the shuttle on its glide back to Earth for landing at 2:35 a.m. EDT.

The Spaceflight Meteorology Group has updated its forecast for the 2:35 a.m. EDT landing of Endeavour. The predict now calls for a few clouds at 2,500 feet, good visibility and easterly winds of 3 peaking to 5 knots.

Check out our photo galleries of Atlantis in the VAB and rolling out tonight.

Now two-and-a-half hours from touchdown.

"It's a beautiful evening here in Florida," weather pilot Rick Sturckow says.

The crew has been given a "go" to start the "fluid loading" protocol. That involves drinking large amounts of liquids and salt tablets to assist in the readaptation to Earth's gravity.

This "go" from Mission Control is seen as a good step toward an on time landing. Houston typically doesn't force the crew into fluid loading unless deorbit looks at least possible.

Mark Kelly is having orange ade and lemon lime ade, Greg Johnson, Mike Fincke, Roberto Vittori and Greg Chamitoff are have water, and Drew Feustel is having orange drink.

Commander Mark Kelly is down on the middeck getting his spacesuit on. Other crewmembers are suited up now.

NASA astronaut Rick Sturckow is airborne at the Kennedy Space Center in the Shuttle Training Aircraft to fly weather reconnaissance around the Florida spaceport. Earlier tonight, he was flying in a T-38 jet to examine how the weather situation was developing.

The Shuttle Training Aircraft is a modified Gulfstream jet that offers a close simulation to the flying characteristics of a space shuttle during landing.

The latest data from Mission Control shows the upcoming deorbit burn ignition time will be 1:29:03 a.m. EDT. The twin braking rockets will fire for 2 minutes and 38 seconds, slowing the shuttle by about 200 mph, just enough to slip out of orbit.

Once in range of the Kennedy Space Center, commander Mark Kelly will perform a 245-degree left overhead turn to align with Runway 15 for touchdown at 2:35 a.m. EDT.

The total mission duration will be 15 days, 17 hours and 38 minutes.

The crew is completing a verification that the various cockpit switches are in the proper positions for entry.

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Endeavour is maneuvering into a new orientation in space to improve the communications link with NASA's orbiting data relay satellite network.

Mission Control has given the crew a "go" to transition the onboard computers from the OPS-2 software used during the shuttle's stay in space to OPS-3, which is the software package that governs entry and landing.

Space shuttle Endeavour's 60-foot-long payload bay doors have been closed and locked in preparation for today's descent into Earth's atmosphere and landing at Kennedy Space Center. The deorbit burn remains scheduled for 1:29 a.m., with touchdown at 2:35 a.m. EDT (0635 GMT).

Mission Control has given the "go" to the astronauts for payload bay door closing.

The crew just completed the steps to bypass the shuttle's radiators on the insides of the payload bay doors and checked out of the ship's flash evaporator cooling system for entry.

Now four hours from touchdown. Closure of the payload bay doors coming up next.

The weather reconnaissance pilot today is astronaut Rick Sturckow. He's just made his initial run around the Kennedy Space Center area this evening and reporting good conditions.

Endeavour astronauts have put away the completed flight plan and opened the deorbit preparation checklists. Activities in space are progressing smoothly toward tonight's return of the space shuttle.

The latest weather forecast issued by the Spaceflight Meteorology Group for tonight's landing calls for scattered clouds at 2,500 and 25,000 feet, good visibility and easterly winds from 080 degrees at 6 peaking to 10 knots. Those conditions are acceptable and within the limits of the landing weather rules.

Down at the Kennedy Space Center, the space shuttle Atlantis has begun its rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building for tonight's journey to launch pad 39A.

Commander Mark Kelly is performing an alignment of Endeavour's inertial measurement units in the ship's guidance system. And the Group B set of avionics and systems are being powered up for tonight's entry.

The entry team of flight controllers has arrived inside Mission Control. Overseeing today's return of Endeavour is Tony Ceccacci, a veteran flight director of several shuttle missions. Seated alongside in Houston in direct radio contact with the shuttle crew is CAPCOM astronaut Butch Wilmore, a previous shuttle pilot.

Here's a look at the timeline for tonight's first landing opportunity:

Orbit 248 deorbit to KSC

Deorbit length: 2min 40sec
Deorbit velocity change: 201 mph

EDT...........EVENT

09:29 PM......Begin deorbit timeline
09:44 PM......Radiator stow
09:54 PM......Astronaut seat installation
10:00 PM......Computers set for deorbit prep
10:04 PM......Hydraulic system configuration
10:29 PM......Flash evaporator cooling system checks
10:35 PM......Final payload deactivation
10:49 PM......Payload bay doors closed
10:59 PM......Mission control 'go' for OPS-3
11:09 PM......OPS-3 transition
11:34 PM......Entry switchlist verification
11:44 PM......Deorbit PAD update
11:49 PM......Crew entry review
12:04 AM......CDR/PLT don entry suits
12:21 AM......IMU alignment
12:29 AM......CDR/PLT strap in; MS suit don
12:46 AM......Shuttle steering check
12:49 AM......Hydraulic system prestart
12:56 AM......Toilet deactivation

01:09 AM......MCC 'go' for deorbit burn
01:15 AM......MS seat ingress
01:24 AM......Single APU start
	
01:29:43 AM...Deorbit ignition
01:32:23 AM...Deorbit burn complete

02:03:33 AM...Entry interface
02:08:33 AM...1st roll command to left
02:16:58 AM...1st roll left to right
02:22:23 AM...C-band radar acquisition
02:28:48 AM...Velocity less than mach 2.5
02:31:01 AM...Velocity less than mach 1
02:31:56 AM...Left turn to runway 15
02:35:23 AM...Landing

The astronauts just woke up to get shuttle Endeavour's landing day underway and bring the ship home for the final time.

Mission Control played "Sunrise Number 1" by Jorge Otero and the band Stormy Mondays from Oviedo, Spain, which earned first place in NASA's "Original Song Contest" for this shuttle flight. It received 787,725 votes, or 49.8 percent of the total ballots.

The crew has a couple of hours to eat breakfast and go about their morning routine before beginning the deorbit preparation timeline at 9:29 p.m. EDT.

The ship's 60-foot-long payload bay doors are scheduled to be closed at 10:49 p.m., followed by the transition of onboard computers to the software for entry and the crew donning its spacesuits.

A final decision whether to land on time will come around 1:10 a.m., leading to ignition of Endeavour's braking rockets at 1:29 a.m. for two-and-a-half minutes to start the trek home. The shuttle hits the upper atmosphere at 2:03 a.m. over the South Pacific.

Landing at the Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 2:35 a.m. EDT to close out Endeavour's spaceflight career.

"The weather is looking very promising," entry flight director Tony Ceccacci told reporters today. "The past few days, the forecasts have been showing crosswinds above our fight rule limits for a nighttime landing. What has happened is, this high that we've had has set up and we were able to get a good trend last night and this evening. We're very confident that trend's going to stay the same for tomorrow.

"Right now, the forecasts are scattered (clouds) at 2,500, we have winds coming out of zero-eight-zero at 6 (knots) peaking at 10, giving us a crosswind of 10 knots, which is far below what we were predicting a couple of days ago. We're feeling pretty good about where we're going tomorrow."

If the landing is postponed for some reason, officials will plan to bring the shuttle back to Earth on Thursday at either KSC or one of the alternate sites.

"Wednesday morning, we're going to be calling up KSC only," Ceccacci said. "If we did have to wave off, the end-of-mission-plus-one day would be pick 'em day. Even though we have the end-of-mission-plus-three capability, we decided just due to the duration of the mission it would probably be smart to get the crew down at end of mission plus one."

Here's a look at the available landing opportunities for Endeavour at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Edwards Air Force Base in California and White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico:

(All times Eastern)

ORBIT...SITE...DEORBIT BURN...LANDING/SITE

06/01/11

248.....KSC....01:29 AM.......02:35 AM
249.....KSC....03:06 AM.......04:11 AM

06/02/11

263.....KSC....12:20 AM.......01:23 AM
264.....KSC....01:56 AM.......02:58 AM
265.....EDW....03:26 AM.......04:28 AM
........WSSH...03:27 AM.......04:30 AM
266.....EDW....05:01 AM.......06:03 AM
........WSSH...05:03 AM.......06:05 AM	

06/03/11

279.....KSC....12:43 AM.......01:46 AM
280.....WSSH...02:15 AM.......03:17 AM
........KSC....02:19 AM.......03:21 AM
281.....EDW....03:49 AM.......04:51 AM
........WSSH...03:50 AM.......04:52 AM
282.....EDW....05:25 AM.......06:26 AM

The Endeavour astronauts tested the shuttle's re-entry systems overnight Monday and began packing up for landing early Wednesday to close out the orbiter's 25th and final voyage.

Read our full story.

The hot-fire test has been accomplished with no problems reported.

The flight control system checkout went well. The astronauts are getting ready to perform the reaction control system hot-fire. The thrusters on the nose and tail of the shuttle will be pulsed as part of the continuing entry and landing checks for Wednesday's homecoming by Endeavour.

The astronauts are checking out the onboard suite of sensors and navigation devices. Upcoming on the list of activities will be checking the entry-critical switches in the cockpit, testing the nose wheel steering system and evaluating the heads-up displays used during landing.

The crew has successfully completed this part of the flight control system checkout, starting up one of the Auxiliary Power Units for the orbiter's hydraulics to move the wing flaps and aerosurfaces through a planned test pattern.

Auxiliary Power Unit No. 1 has been fired up for pre-landing flight control system checks.

The weather outlook for Wednesday morning's landing of the space shuttle Endeavour has improved at the Florida spaceport. Meteorologists have removed the crosswind concern from their latest forecast, now predicting just some scattered clouds, good visibility and easterly winds of 6 peaking to 10 knots.

If the landing is delayed to Thursday for some reason, forecasters say the weather should remain acceptable. The conditions are expected to include scattered low-level and broken high-level clouds, good visibility and easterly winds of 9 peaking to 12 knots.

From the flight deck of shuttle Endeavour, the six astronauts are conducting live interviews with ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News and FOX News Radio.

Endeavour's astronauts have awakened to begin their final full day in space to prepare for their landing late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning at the Kennedy Space Center.

This Flight Day 16 will be spent testing the ship's reaction control system and aerosurfaces for entry and landing, stowing away equipment for the homecoming and holding one more round of live media interviews.

There will be back-to-back orbits available on Wednesday for Endeavour to fire its braking rockets and re-enter the atmosphere for touchdown in Florida on Runway 15. The first opportunity begins with a deorbit at 1:29 a.m. for landing at 2:35 a.m.; the backup opportunity starts with the deorbiting at 3:06 a.m. for landing 4:11 a.m. EDT. However, the weather forecast calls for a chance of high crosswinds.

Today's wakeup music played by Mission Control at 6:56 p.m. EDT was the second-place winner in the "Original Song Contest" held by NASA. "Dreams You Give" by Brian Plunkett from Halfway, Missouri, earned 612,959 votes, or 38.8 percent, in the contest.

Astronauts piloted the shuttle Endeavour on a unique course back toward the International Space Station Monday, testing a next-generation laser-based navigation sensor in hopes of verifying it can help guide future voyages to the space station, distant asteroids and Mars.

Read our full story.

Endeavour just fired its reaction control system jets for 4 seconds in a final separation burn to depart the space station for good. The burn changed Endeavour's velocity by less than 1 mph, but it puts the shuttle on course to fly further away from the station on each orbit.

The shuttle astronauts next plan to have lunch, then they will pack away their spacesuits for landing and power down their rendezvous systems. The crew's schedule calls for them to go to sleep at 10:56 a.m. EDT.

Orbital mechanics are now pulling the shuttle away from the station. Its closest approach was about 950 feet, according to mission control.

Endeavour has naturally stalled out about 1,000 feet directly below the space station. Mission control expects the closest approach to be about 900 feet.

The shuttle is now visible in space station camera views as it flies south of Australia.

Endeavour is now about a mile away from the space station and everything continues to go smoothly in this rendezvous sensor demonstration.

The terminal phase initiation burn is complete as Endeavour flies less than 6,500 feet from the station.

Today's test follows up on data STORRM collected when Endeavour arrived at the space station May 18. During the shuttle's initial rendezvous and docking, STORRM's vision navigation sensor and docking camera worked flawless, according to Heather Hinkel, NASA's principal investigator for the experiment.

"The STORRM sensors were operated during the rendezvous," Hinkel said earlier today. "From 20,000 feet, the laser locked onto the space station. We were hoping for that and we got a little bit better than what we were hoping for out of the sensors, so that was exciting."

Eight minutes away from the terminal phase initiation burn, which put Endeavour on a trajectory to a point about 1,000 feet below the space station. The shuttle is now about 10,200 feet from the complex.

Mission control just told the shuttle crew the planned midcourse correction firing isn't required because Endeavour is right on track. The shuttle will continue coasting until the so-called terminal phase initiation burn in about 20 minutes.

Engineers confirm STORRM's laser vision navigation sensor has acquired the space station.

Endeavour is 18,000 feet below and behind the space station. Another manual midcourse correction burn is on tap in a few minutes.

Another 10-second thruster burn has tweaked Endeavour's path toward the space station as the vehicles fly over the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Jeanette Domber, head of the STORRM project for Ball Aerospace Corp., provided this overview of the sensor package in an interview before the mission.

"We're testing two of the sensors that are going to be used for Orion or the multi-purpose vehicle navigation," Domber said. The first one is called the VNS or the Vision Navigation Sensor. The second one is the Docking Camera. These two sensors are used for proximity operations anywhere between about 5 miles away from the station and as close as 6 feet."

The docking camera won't be used during today's re-rendezvous because of issues with a faulty data recorder.

Ball Aerospace designed and built the system for Lockheed Martin Corp., the contractor for the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle.

"The Vision Navigation System is a flash lidar system, so it uses a laser to create a six-degree of freedom proximity map of the space station, or whatever we're trying to image," Domber said. "We send out a flash from the laser to return off the object that we're ranging to to get range and bearing information that can be used to compute trajectory solutions toward the object of interest."

Endeavour's astronauts will be using heritage shuttle navigation and trajectory control systems for the re-rendezvous. STORRM will simply be collecting data in a passive mode.

"This is the best opportunity we have to test the sensors in the actual environment they will be working in, so in vacuum, at these distances with the right lighting conditions," Domber said. "On this mission in particular, we'll be collecting raw data. There is some processing that has to happen to that data, especially with the VNS, to turn that into information for the astronauts in real-time."

Endeavour is now moving closer to the space station again.

Endeavour commander Mark Kelly just fired Endeavour's thrusters for a couple of seconds in a midcourse correction maneuver about 30,000 feet directly behind the space station.

Meanwhile, mission control is monitoring a minor issue with one of Endeavour's fuel cells. All three of the shuttle's cryogenic power-generating fuel cells continue working fine, but a NASA spokesperson says one of Fuel Cell No. 2's substacks failed a self-test. Engineers have seen this issue before and don't believe it's an issue, and Endeavour will continue the STORRM demo as planned, the spokesperson said.

Endeavour commander Mark Kelly discussed the STORRM demo in an interview before the mission.

"We're going to come back in doing a profile that's actually quite similar to what Apollo used for a rendezvous," Kelly said. "Instead of coming up on the R-bar, which is right underneath the space station, or the V-bar, which is the direction it's going, we're going to come up on a 45-degree angle from behind."

"The hardware sits in the forward part of the payload bay and then we have a computer on board, and one of my crew members is going to be operating STORRM from this one computer and that's his only role, so instead of your typical, four-person team for the rendezvous, we have a fifth person that their only task during the rendezvous is to make sure STORRM is functioning and goes through its correct modes and that we're successfully gathering the data and to handle any contingencies if it's not working right," Kelly said.

With the thrusters having fired as planned, Endeavour is starting its return course toward the International Space Station. The next milestone is the midcourse correction burn directly behind the space station.

Astronaut Drew Feustel is overseeing the STORRM sensor package with a laptop in Endeavour's cockpit. The STORRM system includes a vision navigation system, which will fire 30 laser pulses per second at the space station, creating a 3D map yielding range and bearing information.

STORRM also includes a high-definition docking camera, but it's switched off for this morning's demo because of a faulty data recorder.

"The STORRM software is working itself," Feustel said before the flight. "I do some initialization of the code to make sure that it's operating properly. Everybody has been trained to some level on how to monitor the feedback on the computer screen to know if the system's failing. But it's essentially my job to really watch what's happening with the software and help the ground understand if they don't have the insight that they expect."

The upcoming burn to place Endeavour on the STORRM re-rendezvous trajectory is now targeted for 2:39 a.m. EDT. It will change the shuttle's velocity by just 1.8 feet per second, but that's enough to change Endeavour's path and start the journey back toward the space station.

The next midcourse correction burn will be manually conducted by Endeavour commander Mark Kelly about 30,000 feet directly behind the space station.

The range between the two vehicles is now approaching 10,000 feet. The next maneuver is scheduled for 2:42 a.m. EDT.

A second separation burn was just completed to adjust Endeavour's trajectory away from the space station and set up for this morning's re-rendezvous for the STORRM demo. The shuttle is more than 6,000 feet above and behind the space station.

The shuttle has fired its thrusters to leave the space station. Endeavour is now about 700 feet from the complex, and another burn in a few minutes will speed its departure.

A rocket firing after 2:30 a.m. EDT will halt the separation and set up for Endeavour's second rendezvous with the space station for the STORRM demonstration.

Endeavour should be in front of the space station again in about 10 minutes, when it will fire its thrusters to depart the vicinity of the complex and start the STORRM demonstration with the next-generation rendezvous navigation system.

STORRM stands for Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation.

Backdropped by the reddish desert outback of Australia, Endeavour is now directly below the International Space Station.

The vehicles are now flying over Indonesia.

Now halfway through this 360-degree flyaround, Endeavour is behind the space station as the duo pass over Vietnam.

Endeavour is now 600 feet directly above the space station flying more than 200 miles over central Asia.

Live video from the International Space Station and space shuttle Endeavour shows each vehicle nearly 490 feet apart. Endeavour is beginning its one-lap flyaround of the outpost.

Endeavour is about to start its 360-degree flyaround of the space station.

Once Endeavour reaches a point about 400 feet in front of the space station, pilot Greg Johnson will fire the shuttle's jets to initiate a 360-degree flyaround of the outpost, giving the astronauts a chance to take pictures and other imagery.

One point-of-interest on the flyaround will be the rear thruster platform on Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle docked to the Russian Zvezda service module. NASA instructed the crew to take photos of that area for engineering analysis.

Now at a range of about 180 feet, Endeavour and the space station are crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a night pass. Orbital sunrise will occur at 12:13 a.m. EDT.

Endeavour spent 11 days, 17 hours and 41 minutes docked to the space station on its 12th and final visit, leaving behind a complex with a mass of more than 904,000 pounds and a pressurized volume of 32,333 cubic feet, according to NASA.

Endeavour pilot Greg Johnson is at the controls of the shuttle as it backs away from its docking port on the space station's Harmony module.

"Endeavour, departing," station flight engineer just radioed Endeavour. "Fair finds and following seas, guys."

"Thanks, Ron," Endeavour commander Mark Kelly replied. "Appreciate all your help."

"It's a pleasure serving with you boys," Garan said.

UNDOCKING. Flying 215 miles over Bolivia, Endeavour has left port at the International Space Station for the final time.

Standing by for undocking and physical separation between Endeavour and the space station. Mission control says the hooks holding the vehicles together are now opening.

Mission control just radioed the crew is go for undocking.

Undocking is now 15 minutes away.

Astronaut Drew Feustel reports a data recorder on the STORRM rendezvous sensor still isn't functioning, confirming engineers' fears. The STORRM payload is bolted inside Endeavour's payload bay and will be used to collect navigation, range and bearing data on the space station as the shuttle re-approaches the complex after tonight's undocking.

The faulty recorder would have collected data from STORRM's docking camera, a high-definition camera that would be used as a piloting aid on NASA's Orion exploration capsule. The docking camera is just a secondary objective in STORRM's overall goals, according to NASA.

"That's a big disasppointment to the STORRM team," said Heather Hinkel. "We're really fortunate we had really good data on the rendezvous. We achieved two-thirds of our objectives already."

The docking camera and the laser-based vision navigation sensor, STORRM's primary instrument, gathered good data during Endeavour's rendezvous with the space station earlier in the mission.

During tonight's test, Endeavour will undock and back away from the station station, conducting a flyaround for a photo survey of the orbiting complex. Then the shuttle will back away more than 30,000 feet from the space station before initiating another rendezvous on a unique trajectory to be employed by the Orion vehicle.

Endeavour will fly back within 1,000 feet of the outpost before firing its thrusters for another separation burn to leave the station's vicinity just after 4:30 a.m. EDT.

Endeavour has now maneuvered the shuttle-station complex 180 degrees into the correct orientation for undocking, which is scheduled for 11:55 p.m. EDT.

The shuttle Endeavour's crew prepared for undocking from the International Space Station late Sunday to close out the orbiter's 12th and final visit to the sprawling lab complex.

Read our full story.

Check out the latest schedule of mission programming on NASA TV.

The Endeavour astronauts wrapped up last-minute experiment transfers early Sunday, bid farewell to the crew of the International Space Station and moved back aboard the shuttle to prepare the ship for undocking Sunday night.

Read our full story.

HATCH CLOSED. The hatch between space shuttle Endeavour has been closed as the two space crews go their separate ways. The vehicles spent 10 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes together with hatches open.

The crews just said their goodbyes during a farewell ceremony inside the space station's Harmony module, then the six astronauts of Endeavour floated back into the shuttle to start their trip home.

Undocking is scheduled for 11:55 p.m. EDT tonight.

The Endeavour astronauts wrapped up last-minute experiment transfers early Sunday and prepared to close hatches between the shuttle and the International Space Station to set the stage for undocking Sunday night.

Read our full story.

Endeavour just finished a reboost of the International Space Station's orbit on the shuttle's final full day docked to the outpost.

The shuttle fired its vernier thrusters off-and-on for 14 minutes to raise the lab's orbit by an average of about 3,100 feet, or about 0.58 miles. Meanwhile, Endeavour's crew continues finishing up the final experiment and supply transfers between the vehicles before closing the hatch, which is scheduled for just after 7 a.m. EDT.

The astronauts awoke at about 8 p.m. EDT tonight with the playing of "Galaxy Song" by Clint Black. The flight plan today calls for finishing up cargo transfers between Endeavour and the space station, raising the altitude of the lab's orbit, then closing hatches between the two ships for tomorrow night's undocking.

At the end of the day, the shuttle crew will check out undocking systems and install a camera inside Endeavour's docking port to aid pilot Greg Johnson as he flies the orbiter away from the space station.

The shuttle Endeavour's crew helped out with repairs to one of the International Space Station's carbon dioxide scrubbers Saturday, packed up spacesuits and other EVA gear for return to Earth and transferred equipment and supplies to and from the lab complex as NASA's next-to-last shuttle mission moved into the home stretch.

Read our full story.

While today's cargo transfer and maintenance tasks occur inside the space station, yesterday was the Endeavour mission's fourth and final spacewalk outside the complex. Mike Fincke and Greg Chamitoff spent more than seven hours on an EVA to place a robot arm extension on the space station.

The spacewalkers took along a camera with a fish-eye wide angle lens to capture the majesty of the million-pound space station and space shuttle Endeavour.

Here are a few photos from Friday's spacewalk. You don't want to miss these!

Crews aboard the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station were awakened around 8 p.m. EDT tonight, beginning a light duty day in which the astronauts will replace broken components of the lab's carbon dioxide removal assembly. The astronauts will also work on packing away gear inside the space station.

The mission management team met earlier today and cleared Endeavour's heat shield for re-entry.

Check out the latest schedule of mission programming on NASA TV.


Read our earlier status center coverage.