Space Shuttle Endeavour's flight crew is making final preparations to make a pre-dawn landing in Florida on Wednesday after wrapping up an 11 day stay at the International Space Station.
The shuttle is on its last mission to space after nearly 20 years in service. It's the second to last mission for NASA's space shuttle program. NASA crews are preparing to launch the Atlantis space shuttle on July 8.
For Endeavour, crew members' remaining duties on the current mission include stowing a high-speed communications antenna, checking out the orbiter's flight control surfaces ahead of its entry in the atmosphere for its 2:35 a.m. EDT landing.
The crew has also performed a "hotfire" its thruster jets to ensure they can steer the shuttle to its entry point ahead of its atmospheric entry.
Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at nearly midnight on Monday evening, circling around the station several hundred feet away from it as the crew to still and video images.
As part of its latest mission, NASA installed a $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer particle physics detector.
"It's a new day for science on the space station," Commander Mark Kelly radioed mission control as he viewed the device.
Kelly also helped tested a new docking system, taking controls of Endeavor to move as far as 20,000 feet above and behind the station, then to a point below and behind it. Initial reports indicated that the test produced good data, NASA said.
Endeavor undocked for the final time from the station on Sunday 215 miles above the earth.
Members of Endeavor said goodbye to three other station members before closing the hatch.
Beyond the Spectrometer, it helped bring spare parts to the station, performed space walks to install components and conductin maintenance.
Earth's thin line of atmosphere and a starry sky just off the port wing of the docked space shuttle Endeavour (STS-134) are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 28 crew member on the station on May 28, 2011.
A portion of the International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an STS-134 crew member at an aft flight deck window of space shuttle Endeavour during rendezvous and docking operations on May 18, 2011
Backdropped against a scene showing part of Italy, this image featuring an aft section of the space shuttle Endeavour in the foreground was photographed by an Expedition 27 crew member on May 19, 2011 aboard the International Space Station while the two spacecraft were docked. The vertical stabilizer, the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods and the lower part of the port wing are seen. Twelve astronauts and cosmonauts were busy aboard the joint complex, moving hardware and preparing for a May 20 space walk
The International Space Station's Tranquility node and Cupola are featured in this image photographed by a spacewalker during the STS-134 mission's third session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on May 25, 2011. Earth's horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene.
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