Background
The Space Shuttle had been scheduled to be retired from service after STS-133, but controversy over the cancellation of several International Space Station components, most notably the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, in order to meet deadlines for the retirement of the shuttle, caused the United States Government to consider ordering an additional mission. On 19 June 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed the NASA Authorization Act of 2008, giving NASA funding for one additional mission to "deliver science experiments to the station".
The same mandate was included in the U.S. Senate version of the NASA Authorization Act that was unanimously approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on 25 June 2008. It was amended and passed by the full Senate on 25 September 2008, passed by the House on 27 September 2008, and signed by President George W. Bush on 15 October 2008. Bush had previously opposed any additional shuttle missions, as they could delay the transition to Project Constellation. In the spring of 2009, the Obama Administration included funds for the STS-134 mission in its proposed 2010 NASA budget.
STS-134 was planned to be the final regularly scheduled mission of the NASA Space Shuttle Program, but with the passing in 2011 of an appropriations bill authorizing the conversion of STS-335 to STS-135, this was no longer the case.
Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly's wife, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, flew to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida to view the first launch attempt, her first trip since moving from Tucson to Houston for rehabilitation after being seriously wounded in the January 2011 Tucson shooting. On 16 May, Giffords was again at KSC for the launch, which was "one of the most anticipated in years," according to The New York Times.
U.S. President Barack Obama scheduled a visit to Kennedy Space Center on 29 April 2011 to view the launch, and despite the canceled launch attempt he toured an Orbiter Processing Facility at Launch Complex 39 and met with Giffords and the six crewmembers.
Read more about this topic: STS-134
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