LA
Times: The space shuttle
Endeavour blasted off to its final mission today,
carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02), two
communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, additional
parts for the Dextre robot, and other critical supplies to the
International Space Station.
Endeavour's crew will also transfer the shuttle's
orbiter boom sensor system to the ISS, where it can assist
spacewalkers as an extension for the station's robotic arm. The
16-day mission includes four spacewalks for the shuttle crew,
with the return to Earth scheduled for 1 June. The AMS-02 will
operate as an external module on the ISS for a nominal mission
of 3 years, gathering data at 7 gigabits per second. It will
analyze cosmic rays and flux and search for antimatter and dark
matter; it will continue to provide cosmic-ray measurements
after its nominal mission is complete.
