humanoidhistory: August 10, 2026 – The Space Shuttle Endeavour...

Updated for 2026 — This article has been reviewed and updated with the latest recommendations.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on August 10, 2007, on mission STS-118. The shuttle carried a crew of seven astronauts to the International Space Station, where they installed a new truss segment, replaced a gyroscope, and delivered supplies. It was the 119th shuttle mission and the 22nd flight of Endeavour. The mission also made history by including Barbara Morgan, the first educator-astronaut to fly in space.

The Mission: STS-118

STS-118 launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A at 6:36 PM EDT.

The primary objective was to continue assembly of the International Space Station by installing the S5 truss segment, a structural component that extended the station's backbone. The crew also replaced a faulty control moment gyroscope, one of four used to maintain the station's orientation without using thruster fuel.

The Crew

Commander Scott Kelly led the seven-person crew. Pilot Charlie Hobaugh handled the orbiter during ascent and reentry.

Mission specialists Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Rick Mastracchio, Dave Williams, and Alvin Drew performed the mission's four spacewalks. Barbara Morgan rounded out the crew as a mission specialist and the first educator-astronaut, a role created after the Challenger disaster that claimed teacher Christa McAuliffe in 1986.

Barbara Morgan's Journey

Barbara Morgan had been Christa McAuliffe's backup for the ill-fated 1986 Teacher in Space mission.

After the Challenger tragedy, Morgan continued teaching elementary school in Idaho before joining NASA as a full astronaut candidate in 1998. Her flight on STS-118, over two decades after the original selection, represented the completion of a promise to educators everywhere. During the mission, she participated in educational activities beamed to students across the country.

Spacewalks and Station Assembly

The mission included four extravehicular activities totaling over 27 hours.

During the first spacewalk, Mastracchio and Williams installed the S5 truss and began work on replacing the gyroscope. The second EVA completed the gyroscope replacement and retracted an old antenna. The third and fourth spacewalks focused on maintenance, installing external equipment, and inspecting a notch found in the shuttle's heat shield tiles.

The Tile Damage Concern

During post-launch inspection, engineers discovered a 3-inch gouge in the thermal protection tiles on Endeavour's belly. This immediately raised concerns given the Columbia disaster of 2003, where damaged heat tiles led to the shuttle's destruction during reentry. NASA engineers ran extensive analyses and ultimately determined the gouge would not pose a danger during reentry. The decision not to attempt a risky in-space repair proved correct, as Endeavour landed safely.

Landing and Legacy

Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center on August 21, 2007, after a 12-day mission.

The successful installation of the S5 truss brought the station's backbone closer to completion. The mission demonstrated that NASA had learned and adapted from the Columbia disaster, with thorough inspection protocols and contingency plans in place for tile damage.

Endeavour's Place in History

Space Shuttle Endeavour was the youngest orbiter in the fleet, built in 1991 as a replacement for Challenger.

It flew 25 missions over its career, including the first servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993 and multiple ISS assembly flights. Endeavour completed its final mission in June 2011 and now resides at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where it is being prepared for vertical display alongside an external tank and solid rocket boosters.

The Shuttle Program in Perspective

STS-118 took place during the final years of the shuttle program, which ended in 2011 after 135 missions.

The program's legacy is complex. The shuttles built the International Space Station, deployed and serviced the Hubble Space Telescope, and carried over 350 people to orbit. They also claimed 14 lives in two disasters. The program pushed the boundaries of reusable spacecraft technology and provided lessons that informed the development of current vehicles like SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner.

Visiting Endeavour Today

The California Science Center's Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is constructing a permanent display that will show Endeavour in its launch configuration, standing vertically with an external tank and twin solid rocket boosters.

The exhibit is expected to open in 2026 and will be the only place in the world to see a complete shuttle stack. The shuttle previously traveled through the streets of Los Angeles in October 2012 in a dramatic multi-day transport from LAX to the museum.