CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A cloud of steam and smoke emerge as space shuttle Endeavour's main engines ignite for liftoff at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour began its final flight, the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station, at 8:56 a.m. EDT on May 16. Endeavour and its six-member crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), Express Logistics Carrier-3, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell
Location Kennedy Space Center, FL
Date May 16, 2011