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Shuttle Orbiter Endeavour (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is the sixth and most recent NASA space shuttle to be built.
Construction of Endeavour began in 1987 to replace Challenger, which was lost in an accident in 1986. Structural spares from the construction of shuttles Discovery and Atlantis were used in its assembly. The decision to build Endeavour was favored over refitting Enterprise because it was cheaper.
Endeavour was first launched in 1992 and on its first mission captured and redeployed a stranded communications satellite. In 1993 it made the first service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Endeavour was withdrawn from service for eight months in 1997 for a retrofit, including installation of a new airlock. In December 1998, it delivered the Unity Module to the International Space Station.
The orbiter is named after the HM Bark Endeavour, the ship commanded by 18th century explorer James Cook (which explains the British spelling); the name also honoured Endeavour, the Command Module of Apollo 15.
Flights
Space Shuttle Endeavour has flown 19 flights, spent 206.60-days in space, completed 3,259 orbits, and flown 85,072,077 miles in total, as of February 2003.