Space Shuttle ENDEAVOUR was named after an 18th century ship commanded by British explorer James Cook, who traveled throughout the southern hemispere. Cook often brought along scientist on his voyages of exploration. In August 1768 on ENDEAVOUR'S maiden voyage Cook observed and recorded the transit of the planet Venus.
In response to the outpouring of concerns by students after the Challenger accident, US Congressman Tom Lewis introduced a bill in the US Congress to established the NASA Orbiter-Naming Program. In October 1987, the US Congress authorized that the name for Orbiter Vehicle 105 be selected "from among suggestions submitted by students in elementary and secondary schools."
The name ENDEAVOUR resulted from a orbiter-naming competition wich was held in the USA. NASA orbiters are named after sea vessels used in research and exploration. The NASA Orbiter-Naming Program involved over 71,000 students with over 6100 entries. The most frequently suggested name was ENDEAVOUR. Some of the other suggestions included; EAGLE, RESOLUTION, CALYPSO, NAUTILUS, RISING STAR and VICTORIA. In May 1989, US President George Bush selected and announced the winning name, ENDEAVOUR.
Orbiter ENDEAVOUR milestones:
Contract award: 31 July 1987 Start assembly crew module: 15 February 1982 Start assembly of OV-105 body flap: 07 September 1987 Start assembly aft-fuselage: 28 September 1987 Start assembly mid-fuselage: 19 October 1987 Start assembly vertical stabilizer: 30 November 1987 Wings arrive from Grumman at Palmdale: 22 December 1987 Start assembly of FRCS at Downey: 11 January 1988 Left hand OMS pod arrives at Palmdale: 29 January 1988 Right hand OMS pod arrives at Palmdale: 16 February 1988 Wing to mid-fuselage mate complete: 17 May 1988 Lower fuselage transported to Palmdale: 25 May 1988 Start assembly upper-fuselage at Downey: 01 August 1988 Mate lower forward to mid-fuselage: August 1988 OMDS pods shipped to St. Louis: 30 January 1989 Upper forward fuselage transported to Palmdale: 08 September 1989 Payload bay door arrive at Palmdale: October 1989 Aft-fuselage transported to Palmdale: 15 December 1989 Crew module transported to Palmdale: 23 February 1990 Mate crew module to upper-fuselage: March 1990 OV-105 Powered on for first time: 06 July 1990 Mate body flap: July 1990 Mate nose cap and vertical stabilizer: September 1990 Mate payload bay doors: Sept./Oct. 1990 FRCS shipped to Palmdale: December 1990 Roll-out at Palmdale: 25 April 1991 OV-105 departs for Biggs Army Base, Texas: 03 May 1991 Second leg of ferry flight to Kelly AFB: 05 May 1991 Third leg of ferry flight to Ellington AFB: 06 May 1991 OV-105 arrives at KSC: 07 May 1991 OV-105 towed into the VAB transfer aisle: 08 May 1991 OV-105 transferred to VAB High Bay-2: 10 May 1991 OV-105 transferred to OPF-1: 25 July 1991 OV-105 transferred to VAB High Bay-1: 07 March 1992 OV-105 is mated with STS-49 stack: 08 March 1992 STS-49 stack rollout to pad 39B: 13 March 1992 Flight Readiness Firing(*): 06 April 1992 First space flight: 07 May 1992(*)Flight Readiness Firing was on pad 39B at 11:12 am EST, the duration was 20 seconds.
MISSIONS:
FLIGHT LAUNCH LANDING DURATIONSTS-49 MAY 7, 1992 MAY 16, 1992 8 days, 21 hrs
17 min. 28 sec
STS-47 SEPTEMBER 12, 1992 SEPT. 20, 1992 7 days, 22 hrs
32 min. 11 sec
STS-54 JANUARY 13, 1993 JANUARY 19, 1993 5 days, 23 hrs 39 min. STS-57 JUNE 21, 1993 JULY 1, 1993 9 days, 23 hrs 44 min. 54 sec STS-61 DECEMBER 2, 1993 DECEMBER 13, 1993 12 days-19 hrs 58 min. 33 sec STS-59 APRIL 9, 1994 APRIL 20, 1994 11 days, 5 hrs 49 min. 30 sec STS-68 SEPTEMBER 30, 1994 OCTOBER 11, 1994 11 days, 5 hrs 47 min. 30 sec STS-67 MARCH 2, 1995 MARCH 18, 1995 16 days-15 hrs 9 min. 46 sec. STS-69 SEPTEMBER 7, 1995 SEPT. 18, 1995 10 days-20 hrs 28 min. 56 sec STS-72 JANUARY 11, 1996 JANUARY 20, 1996 8 days, 22 hrs 41 sec. STS-77 MAY 19, 1996 MAY 29, 1996 10 days, 0 hrs 39 min. STS-89 JANUARY 22, 1998 JANUARY 31, 1998 8 days, 19 hrs 48 min. 04 sec. STS-88 DECEMBER 04, 1998 DECEMBER 15, 1998 11 days, 19 hrs 18 min. 47 sec. STS-99 FEBRUARY 11, 2000 FEBRUARY 22, 2000 11 days, 5 hrs 38 min. STS-97 NOVEMBER 30, 2000 DECEMBER 11, 2000 10 days, 19 hrs 58 min. 20 sec. STS-100 APRIL 19, 2001 MAY 01, 2001 11 days, 12 hrs 30 min. STS-108 DECEMBER 05, 2001 DECEMBER 17, 2001 11 days, 19 hrs 36 min. 49 sec. STS-111 JUNE 05, 2002 JUNE 19, 2002 13 days, 20 hrs 35 min. 56 sec. STS-113 November 23, 2002 DECEMBER 07, 2002 13 days, 18 hrs 48 min. 38 sec. STS-115