Its official designation was the OV-105, but the world came to know it as the Endeavour Space Shuttle. It was built from spare parts to replace the Challenger, which tragically disintegrated a mere 73 minutes after launch from the Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986.
Along with the Discovery and Atlantis, which took part in the STS (Space Transportation system) missions, and the Enterprise that was used for initial testing, the Endeavour is (after a second tragedy struck in 2003 when Columbia exploded on re-entry) what remains of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, which was terminated last year after three decades and 135 missions.
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