APOD 4.7

May 18th, 2011.                        The Last Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor.

While I am usually tempted to choose the colorful and mystic pictures of galaxies and other space objects, I found that this week it was appropriate to pick the picture of the shuttle launch. Not only is this one of the final launches before the program gets cancelled, but I have also never seen a launch up close in person so I wanted to explore more about it.  This was the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor's final trip into Earth's Orbit. The shuttle went up with 6 astronauts and began its ascent to space. The mission was STS-134 and the shuttle is expected to dock with the international space station.  It is supposed to deliver many objects to the ISS, most importantly the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 which is supposed to detect both dark matter and antimatter.  The final launch in the current space shuttle program is planned for shuttle Atlantis in mid-July.