Space Shuttle Endeavour Lands Safely

NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, July 31, 2009 at 10:48 AM EDT.

The largest ever gathering in space took place when the seven astronauts of space shuttle mission STS-127 entered the International Space Station and joined the six residents of the ISS.

The Endeavour crew was involved in a number of research and maintenance tasks on the ISS. They added a platform to the exterior of Japan's Kibo space laboratory so that experiments can be performed in outer space. The Kibo laboratory took three years to complete.

The shuttle was able to launch only after numerous delays caused by hydrogen leaks and inclement weather.

Debris flew off the shuttle during launched, creating concern that the Endeavour's tiles, which protect it from excessive heat, could have been damaged. In 2003, pieces of foam insulation that broke off from the external fuel tank of the space shuttle Columbia damaged the Columbia's heat shields, resulting in the deaths of everyone aboard.

Mark Polansky, the commander of the Endeavour, flew the Endeavour over the International Space Station so the crew of the ISS could check the tiling.

A thruster that controls the speed and attitude of reentry also failed during a test.

The crew also had to cope with an ISS toilet that malfunctioned.

Despite all of these difficulties, the Endeavour crew experienced a safe landing.

The space shuttle is due to launch again on August 25.

NASA plans to phase out the space shuttle program beginning next year, and replacing it with an Apollo-style rocket and capsule system, called Ares and Orion.

The Obama administration has concerns about the cost and usefulness of NASA's new plan.