WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The orbiter Endeavour (OV-105) returns to Florida following a ten-day stay in space. Main gear touchdown on Runway 33 of KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility occurred at 7:09:18 a.m. EDT, May 29. On board Endeavour for Mission STS-77 are Commander John H. Casper; Pilot Curtis L. Brown Jr.; and Mission Specialists Andrew S. W. Thomas, Daniel W. Bursch, Mario Runco Jr. and Marc Garneau, who represents the Canadian Space Agency. Among the payloads the crew worked with were the SPACEHAB-4 module, filled with a variety of microgravity research experiments; the Spartan 207 deployable carrier which held the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) that was deployed during the flight; and the Technology Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS), a suite of four experiments. The highly successful mission marks Endeavour's last flight in space for some time to come. The orbiter is slated to undergo an Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP), during which regularly scheduled checkouts and maintenance will be performed as well as modifications to prepare OV-105 for its upcoming role in on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station. Endeavour's next mission is STS-88 in December 1997, the first launch of U.S. hardware for assembly of the station.