NASA launches Endeavour's final flight

Seen here landing on Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 18, 2009, Endeavour is returning from the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour, the youngest of the shuttle fleet, chalked up some notable firsts for the shuttle program. It was the first shuttle to use a 40-foot-wide drag parachute to help slow it down (seen here), and its second flight, mission STS-47 in 1992, marked the first time an African-American woman (Mae Jemison) had flown in space.

Credit: NASA