For the final time, the space shuttle Endeavour will launch into space today. The launch, which is the penultimate mission for NASA's 30-year space shuttle program, caps an impressive 19-year career for the spacecraft.

The space shuttle was built as the successor to the Challenger, which blew up in a horrible tragedy six years before Endeavour's first flight. The last of the five space shuttles to be built, Endeavour will have completed 25 trips into orbit by the time its last mission ends. It carried the crew that provided the first servicing of the Hubble telescope and brought the first educator into space, Barbara Morgan. Morgan was the backup for Christa McAuliffe, who was slated to be the first teacher in space when she died in the Challenger disaster.

Here are a few of the highlights from Endeavour's career.

The sign at the IBM facility near Boulder, Colarado
The sign at the IBM facility near Boulder, Colorado September 8, 2009. International Business Machines Corp. repeated that it expects to earn "at least" $9.70 a share this year. REUTERS
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