(NECN/NASA: Cape Canaveral, Fla.) - Space shuttle Endeavour has taken off on the second to last space shuttle flight.
Endeavour is bound for the International Space Station one last time before heading to retirement at a Los Angeles museum. The shuttle's experienced, all-male crew will deliver and install a $2 billion particle physics experiment during the 16-day flight, as well as spare station parts.
The mission commander is Mark Kelly, the astronaut husband of wounded Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Endeavour is the baby of NASA's shuttle fleet. It was built to replace the Challenger, lost in a 1986 launch accident. Endeavour first flew in 1992.
One final shuttle mission remains, by Atlantis in July.
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