SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR (OV-105) Fact Sheet
Written and Edited by Cliff Lethbridge

Endeavour was named in honor of the first ship captained by explorer James Cook. Cook led Endeavour on her maiden voyage in August, 1768 and sailed to the South Pacific to observe and document the rare passage of the planet Venus between the Earth and the Sun.

Cook later sailed Endeavour on a journey that resulted in the discovery of New Zealand, a survey of the eastern coast of Australia and navigation of the Great Barrier Reef. Cook often carried scientists with him on his journeys, who gathered many formerly unknown specimens of plants and animals.

Endeavour and her crew are believed to have completed the first journey during which no crew members died of scurvy. Cook is believed to have been the first captain to recognize proper diet as a preventative for scurvy, and required his crews to eat ample amounts of cress, sauerkraut and orange extract.

A second ship captained by Cook, named Discovery, had already inspired the name of a Space Shuttle. The selection of the name Endeavour marked the first time the name of a Space Shuttle was selected through a national competition of elementary and secondary school students. Endeavour was also the name of the Apollo 15 Command Module.

Endeavour milestones include the first flight of a replacement Space Shuttle (STS-49), the rescue and redeployment of the Intelsat VI (F3) communications satellite (STS-49) and the first servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (STS-61).

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