 In 1988, school children from across America were asked to help name the newest space shuttle orbiter. One of their requirements was to name it after a sea vessel of scientific exploration. After months of competition, a name was finally selected and our newest orbiter was christened. Record the space shuttle endeavor on this its maiden voyage. The name endeavor has a long history of scientific exploration and discovery. Over 200 years ago, the oceans of the world were still great frontiers filled with mystery and adventure. No ship helped to unravel those mysteries more than the British sailing ship endeavor. It's obvious we've progressed quite a ways since the wind-driven sailing ships, but we are still inspired by the quest for knowledge and the sense of adventure. During the next few minutes, we will take a look at the endeavor of long ago to see how much we've changed and how much we've stayed the same. So join us for the voyage of endeavor then and now. He minors 10, 9, 8. We have a goal for main engine start. We have main engine start. 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. And lift off. Lift off of the space shuttle and it has cleared the tower. Yeah, you're on. Thank your touchdown. Endeavour Houston, go ahead. The original endeavor was commanded by one of the greatest sea captains who ever lived, Captain James Cook. Cook, the very name dominates an age of world exploration. At the helm of Endeavour, he sailed across the Atlantic, around the treacherous horn of South America, and into the vast Pacific Ocean. The voyage of Endeavour took him to Tahiti, New Zealand, along Australia's great barrier reef. And finally, around the tip of Africa, back into the Atlantic and home to England. It was a voyage that lasted almost three years. As a young boy in England, James Cook fell in love with the sea. Born the son of a farmer, he quit his job as a grocery clerk to work as an apprentice on a coal hauling ship. Because he aspired to a career normally reserved for the privileged upper class, Cook worked hard. He spent much of his free time studying navigation, astronomy, and physics. Without a doubt, his knowledge of these subjects led to his success as a great explorer. Like Cook, most every astronaut can tell you that he or she became interested in exploration at a very young age. Space exploration. We come from different backgrounds. Some of us are pilots, others are scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and even medical doctors. But one thing we all have in common is a college degree and a strong background in math and science that led us into the space program and into space. The shuttle is the workhorse of the space program and Endeavour is the fifth shuttle to be built. Although she may look the same as her sister ships, Endeavour is actually pioneering new shuttle technology that will soon be incorporated into the rest of the shuttle fleet. These modifications include the addition of a drag chute for safer landings and improvements that will allow shuttles to fly longer missions of exploration. Cook's Endeavour was also modified before she set sail. She started out as a short-range coal hauling ship named Earl of Pembroke. She was then refurbished for longer voyages and rechristened Endeavour. Then in August of 1768 Cook sailed her from Plymouth, England to begin one of history's greatest voyages. But what was he looking for? His primary mission was to transport a group of scientists to an area in the Pacific Ocean where they could observe an important astronomical event. It was the transit of Venus when the planet passes in front of the sun, an event that happens only twice every 100 years. But Cook also had another job or secondary objective. He was to explore this relatively uncharted region of the world, claim all that he found for England and make maps of the area. Along the way the scientists with him would observe and document new plant and animal life they encountered. Whenever we launch a shuttle into space we also have more than one job or objective in mind. For example, our primary mission on this light is to retrieve the Innosat satellite. Rescuing the satellite turned out to be more of a challenge than we thought it would be. Like Cook we discovered there are unknowns associated with exploration. While exploring the uncharted Australian coastline, the Endeavour ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. But Cook had a skilled and ingenious crew who was able to repair the ship and enable the voyage to continue to its successful conclusion. We ran into problems too when we first attempted to capture the satellite. This task was easily performed on Earth, but in space it was a different matter. Well it's not ground, I didn't get it. But in a case of history repeating itself, the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour was able to devise a new plan of action. And we successfully completed our primary mission objective. But that's not all we do. We, like Captain Cook, also have secondary objectives. On board we're conducting life science experiments which will help us to better understand the effects of weightlessness on the human body. We're also working outside the orbiter in the payload bag evaluating construction techniques for space station freedom. So, like Cook, we're blazing a trail for those who will follow. Beautiful. Documentation is also an important part of what we do up here. In fact, on this flight we're carrying 21 cameras to bring back some of our activities to Earth. We can show researchers their experiments in action, or tests of space hardware. We give oceanographers a new view of our oceans and geologists a different view of the Earth. And the beauty of the Earth from space sparks the imagination of everyone. We can send images from space as they happen via satellite. But we also bring back a lot of pictures. In Cook's day there were no satellites or cameras, but he still needed to document the things he saw. So, he had two artists on his endeavor to document the landscapes, the people, the plants, and the animals they encountered during their exploration. But that meant the scientists back in England had to wait until Cook got home to see their pictures. And Cook was gone for three years. A ship, whether it's a sailing ship or a spaceship, has to have a crew to make it work. We have a crew of seven on our flight. A commander and a pilot who fly the spacecraft, and five mission specialists to perform microgravity experiments. Do spacewalks, operate the shuttle's arm, and deploy satellites. Of course, with such a small crew we all have to help each other out and share the work. For example, while Pierre and Rick are spacewalking outside the orbiter, the rest of the crew are all busy with jobs that make their trip outside possible. So there's a lot of coordination between all of us. On the shuttle, seven people have to live and work in a volume equal to half the inside space of a school bus. But we make the most of what space we do have, even the ceiling. These lockers are where we stow most of the things we use on the flight, such as our clothes and even equipment for some of our experiments. Cook had to consider living and storage space on his endeavor, too. He had more than 90 people on board a ship that wasn't designed to carry nearly that many. This meant they had to make use of every nook and cranny on the ship, just like we do on the shuttle. Cook had to also carry enough supplies to service the ship during its three-year voyage. That meant extra canvas for torn sails and other items to keep his ship sailing. Remember, endeavor ran aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and her hull was damaged pretty badly. But thanks to the carpenter and blacksmith that Cook had on board, they were able to repair the damage and continue their voyage. Occasionally, we may also have problems that require immediate maintenance. And even though we don't have a blacksmith or a carpenter on board, we do have a well-equipped tool kit and extensive maintenance checklist. During the flight of STS-30, the crew used these maintenance procedures and tools to change out an important computer. We sure hope we don't have any emergencies like that, but if we do, we have the tools and the procedures to get the job done. Food was another thing that took up a lot of space on Cook's endeavor. Carrying enough food for such a large crew was quite a task. Meat was packed in large barrels of salt to keep it from spoiling. The typical food on such a long voyage consisted mainly of salt, pork, and bread with a little rum or beer thrown in. Because of diets like that, many sailors of that day suffered and died from scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. But things were different on Cook's ship. He loaded endeavor with as much fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, and onions as the ship could carry. And because of that, he didn't lose a single member of his crew to scurvy. Cook even took a goat along with him so that his crew would have fresh milk. I don't think that would work up here. For the most part, our meals are already prepared. Some foods we just have to heat up in our small galley. Others are prepared by adding water to them. We also have some that we eat straight out of the can. Tonight I'm having beef tips with mushrooms, asparagus, and butterscotch pudding. We also have a choice of drinks, but no rum or beer like in Cook's day. This would have been a feast for Cook's crew. And then there's housekeeping, a chore on any vessel. Cook knew the disease in germs could destroy his crew, so he regularly had endeavor's deck scrubbed with a mixture of vinegar and water. But if one of his crew did get sick, he had a medic and a doctor on board to take care of them. We also have to keep our ship clean. In space, dirt and other things don't fall to the floor like they do on Earth. In fact, the walls get just as dirty as the floors. And if one of us becomes ill, two of our crew members are trained to be crew medical officers. Using the shuttle medical kit and the medical checklist, the crew medical officers can treat problems as simple as a headache or something as serious as a heart attack. Here's a lecture they didn't have on the original endeavor, a toilet. In Cook's day, they used to have to use a bucket or hang over the side of the ship. As you can imagine, that could get pretty dangerous in rough seas. Man overboard! Another advantage we have as far as comfort goes is climate control. Our life support system keeps the crew compartment at a comfortable 25 degrees Celsius. On Cook's voyage, endeavor sailed through the frigid waters off the tip of South America and through the tropics near Tahiti, all without air conditioning or heaters. Cook also sailed without the sophisticated navigational aids that we have today. To chart his course, Cook used a sextant, a device that uses the stars to pinpoint latitude, or how far north or south we are from the equator. It would still be a few years before the use of a chronometer would enable sailors to accurately determine longitude, or how far east or west they were from England. But thanks to Cook's knowledge of math and astronomy, he was able to compute endeavor's longitude to within a few degrees. Most of our navigation is done by modern tracking satellites and ground radar. But we have to help them out by pointing endeavor's navigation instruments up at the proper stars. To do this, we use a device that's a lot like the sextant Cook relied on. It's called a star tracker. With a star tracker, we can accurately determine the orbiter's attitude and then do precise maneuvers like a rendezvous with the intel satellite. Cook's voyage on endeavor was a challenging one. And in spite of the hardships endured by him and his crew, the journey was one of history's greatest voyages of exploration. During the voyage, Cook explored and charted New Zealand, proving that it was actually two islands. He charted the eastern and northern coast of Australia, and established that Australia and New Guinea were separate land masses. And he circumnavigated the globe, bringing back a wealth of scientific information about plant and animal life in that part of the world. The crew of the Spatial Endeavour salutes Captain James Cook and his great accomplishments. His life is an example of how far one can go. He overcame great odds and obstacles to make his dreams come true. With hard work, study, and perseverance, Cook became one of history's greatest explorers. We in the show program are also explorers, charting a course for the future, a future filled with new frontiers. Today, our voyage of endeavor is keeping the spirit of exploration alive. For you.