One of the many locations covered by Operation Noble Eagle was the space shuttle launch facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Protecting the space shuttle Endeavour, this Florida Air National Guard F-15 from the 125th Fighter Wing in Jacksonville is just one of the hundreds of military aircraft protecting the nation’s assets daily. The Endeavour, the last space shuttle built for NASA and the last to be retired, flew 25 missions during its 20 years of service. All of the space shuttles that occupied the launch pad from September 2001 to the end of the space shuttle era were protected under Operation Noble Eagle. (Operation Noble Eagle 2001, a National Guard Heritage Painting by, Rick Reeves, courtesy the National Guard Bureau.)