page_title: STS-134
section_title: 21 May (Flight Day 6)
hierarchical_section_title: STS-134 / Mission timeline / 21 May (Flight Day 6)
caption_attribution_description: English: Damaged thermal tile on NASA Space Shuttle Endeavor, during mission STS-134.
context_page_description: STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander. STS-134 was expected to be the final space shuttle mission if STS-135 did not receive funding from Congress. However, in February 2011, NASA stated that STS-135 would fly "regardless" of the funding situation. STS-135, flown by Atlantis, took advantage of the processing for STS-335, the Launch On Need mission that would have been necessary if the STS-134 crew became stranded in orbit.
  Changes in the design of the main payload, AMS-02, as well as delays to STS-133, led to delays in the mission. The first launch attempt on 29 April 2011 was scrubbed at 12:20 pm by launch managers due to problems with two heaters on one of the orbiter's auxiliary power units. Endeavour launched successfully at 08:56:28 EDT on 16 May 2011, and landed for the final time on 1 June 2011.
context_section_description: On flight day 6, the members of Endeavour's crew performed a focused inspection of an area of thermal protection tiles on the bottom of the orbiter. The tiles were damaged during launch, and detailed data provided by the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) was needed to make sure the orbiter could re-enter Earth's atmosphere safely. The focused inspection started with the Canadarm2 grappling the OBSS in the middle of the boom and handing it off to the shuttle's Canadarm, which was controlled by pilot Greg Johnson and mission specialists Mike Fincke and Roberto Vittori. The inspection process took approximately two hours to complete, and resulted in the Thermal Protection System (TPS) being cleared for entry. After the inspection was complete, Fincke joined Drew Feustel to get their spacesuits ready for the second spacewalk of the mission on flight day 7. The pair performed the standard overnight campout procedure to get ready for the EVA. Later in the crew day, the STS-134 crew assembled with the Expedition 27 crew in the Kibo module. The joint crew spoke with Pope Benedict XVI, answering several questions asked by the Pope. This marked the first time a Pope has spoken to astronauts in space. Benedict also blessed Mark Kelly's wife Gabrielle Giffords, who had undergone skull surgery earlier in the week, and offered condolences to Paolo Nespoli for the loss of his mother.
caption: One of Endeavour's damaged thermal protection tiles.
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