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Mark Kelly and crew will undock tonight, return home

(NEWSER) - It's all over for Endeavour but the undocking: The shuttle's crew floated out the door this morning and closed the hatch behind them, having completed Endeavour's final mission. "We're looking forward to getting home," said commander Mark Kelly, "and we're going to leave these guys to some peace and quiet and not disturb their space station anymore." The crew will get some sleep before undocking late tonight and starting the two-day trip home, reports the AP. More»

Space shuttle safely wraps up mission after 2 weeks, 3 spacewalks

(NEWSER) - The first of the space shuttle program's final five missions ended without a hitch tonight as Endeavour landed at Cape Canaveral, beating bad weather forecast for the Florida coast. "Houston, it is great to be home," the mission commander said after returning from the International Space Station on the first shuttle mission of the year. "It was a great adventure." More»

Endeavour headed for construction work at space station

(NEWSER) - The shuttle Endeavour lifted off early this morning from Cape Canaveral in what will likely be the last nighttime launch of the soon-to-end space shuttle program. The six astronauts on board are hauling a new room and observation deck up to the International Space Station, where they are set to arrive early Wednesday, AP reports. More»

Endeavour now looks for liftoff early Monday

(AP) - Clouds prevented space shuttle Endeavour from blasting off this morning on the last planned nighttime shuttle launch, delaying its trip with a final few building blocks for the International Space Station. Launch time was re-scheduled for 4:14am tomorrow. It's expected to be the last shuttle launch in darkness; only five shuttle missions remain. More»

(AP) - Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts are back on Earth. Endeavour landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center this morning after a 16-day mission that saw the crew complete its major construction goals at the International Space Station. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, back after 4½ months in space, says he can't wait to eat some sushi and see his wife and son. More»