The United States Congress approved the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was destroyed in 1986.

[6] The orbiter is named after the British HMS Endeavour, the ship which took Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery (1768–1771).

During this time, Endeavour received major hardware upgrades, including a new, multi-functional, electronic display system, often referred to as a glass cockpit, and an advanced GPS receiver, along with safety upgrades recommended by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) for the shuttle's return to flight following the loss of Columbia during reentry on February 1, 2003.

As it was constructed later than its elder sisters, Endeavour was built with new hardware designed to improve and expand orbiter capabilities.

[15] STS-134 was intended to launch in late 2010, but on July 1 NASA released a statement saying the Endeavour mission was rescheduled for February 27, 2011.

[16] "The target dates were adjusted because critical payload hardware for STS-133 will not be ready in time to support the previously planned 16 September launch," NASA said in a statement.

[17] The launch was further postponed until April to avoid a scheduling conflict with a Russian supply vehicle heading for the International Space Station.

[23] During Endeavour's last mission, the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-20 departed from the ISS and paused at a distance of 200 metres (660 ft).

[25] STS-134 was the penultimate Space Shuttle mission; STS-135 was added to the schedule in January 2011, and in July Atlantis flew for the final time.

After low level flyovers above NASA and civic landmarks across the country and in California, it was delivered to LAX on September 21.

[40] It was then hoisted off the aircraft and placed inside a United Airlines hangar to prepare for its transportation through the streets of Los Angeles.

[45] In multiple locations, there were only inches of clearance for the shuttle's wide wings between telephone poles, apartment buildings and other structures.

Police escorts and other security personnel, among them including the LAPD, LASD, CHP, and NASA officials, controlled the large crowds gathered, with support from the LAFD and LACoFD to treat heat exhaustion victims as Endeavour made its way through the city.

Toyota used the footage of Endeavour crossing the bridge in a commercial for the 2013 Super Bowl,[51] and the Tundra used to pull the shuttle was donated to the Science Center, where it became part of an exhibit on leverage.

[56] A companion exhibit inside the Science Center features images and artifacts that related the Space Shuttle program to California, where the orbiters were originally constructed.

[61][62][63] In August 2015, NASA engineers removed a few of the tanks from Endeavour for reuse as storage containers for potable water on the International Space Station.

On April 12, 2016, the tank was transported by barge from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, across the Panama Canal, and was safely docked in Marina del Rey on May 15.

[66][67][68] On March 28, 2017, both Northrop Grumman and NASA donated a pair of flight-proven solid rocket boosters for Endeavour exhibit.

[70][71] The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, is a new building that is under construction, will serve as Endeavour's new permanent home.

[74] On July 20, 2023, the assembly of the stack began with the aft skirts (bottom segments of the rocket boosters) being precisely positioned on a concrete slab supported by six base isolators that will protect Endeavour from earthquakes.

A replica of a section of Endeavour is on exhibit outside the Discovery Cube Orange County, a science museum in Santa Ana, California.