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STS-127: The programs

In advance of shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the station, managers from both programs discuss the flight.

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STS-127: The mission

A detailed step-by-step preview of Endeavour's STS-125 mission to install an external exposure platform on the station's Kibo science facility.

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STS-127: The EVAs

The lead spacewalk officer provides indepth explanations of the EVAs on Endeavour's assembly mission to the station.

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STS-127: The crew

The seven astronauts launching on Endeavour meet the press in the traditional pre-flight news conference.

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Shuttle Endeavour poised for Saturday evening launch
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 10, 2009


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The shuttle Endeavour's countdown is ticking smoothly toward launch Saturday evening on a delayed space station assembly mission to attach an experiment platform to a Japanese lab module, to replace aging solar array batteries and to deliver spare parts and supplies.


The gantry will be retracted from around Endeavour at 11 p.m. Friday. Credit: NASA-KSC
 
There are no technical problems of any significance at launch complex 39A, but forecasters are continuing to predict a 60 percent chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms and electrical activity that could trigger another delay. Launch is targeted for 7:39:35 p.m. EDT Saturday.

"Overall, our primary concern on launch day is for thunderstorms and showers to be in the area, particularly within 20 nautical miles of the shuttle landing facility and 10 nautical miles of the launch pad," said shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters.

Good weather is expected at NASA's emergency runways in the United States and Europe, Winters said, "so the primary concern will be here at the Kennedy Space Center."

The forecast improves to 60 percent "go" on Sunday with a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions should launch be delayed to Monday.

"Bottom line from the team, everybody's go for launch, we have no major issues at all," said Mike Moses, director of shuttle launch integration at the Kennedy Space Center. "We're in really good shape for launch tomorrow. ... We do have some challenges with the weather, but we'll just work through those. I don't worry about things I can't control and I certainly cannot control the weather."

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Endeavour's crew - commander Mark Polansky, pilot Douglas Hurley, Canadian flight engineer Julie Payette, David Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Thomas Marshburn and space station flight engineer Timothy Kopra - flew to Florida on Tuesday. The countdown began at 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Engineers loaded liquid hydrogen and oxygen into Endeavour's on-board storage tanks overnight Thursday to power the ship's three electricity producing fuel cells. Countdown milestones today include main engine checks, heat shield inspections, communications system activation and retraction of a protective gantry that will set the stage for fueling.

If all goes well, engineers plan to begin pumping a half-million gallons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen into Endeavour's external tank beginning around 10:14 a.m. Saturday. The hydrogen and oxygen sections of the huge tank should be topped off and in "stable replenish" mode by 1:14 p.m. The astronauts plan to begin strapping in around 4:20 p.m.

Two previous launch attempts on June 13 and 17 were scrubbed during fueling when a hydrogen vent line attached to the side of the tank began leaking as the hydrogen section of the tank neared its full load. Engineers ultimately determined the vent port housing was built into the tank slightly out of alignment, causing a quick-disconnect fitting to pull away slightly under cryogenic conditions.

After the second delay, engineers replaced a rigid one-piece Teflon seal with a more flexible two-piece seal and used shim-like washers on the vent line attachment plate to make it less susceptible to temperature-induced movement.

To make sure the repairs would work, Endeavour's tank was re-loaded with oxygen and hydrogen July 1. Sensors detected no measurable leakage and engineers are confident the system will work as required Saturday.

Here are highlights for the remainder of Endeavour's countdown (in EDT; best viewed with fixed-width font):


EDT...........EVENT

Fri  07/10/09

02:00 PM......Begin 13-hour 14-minute hold
04:00 PM......ASP crew module inspection
05:30 PM......Comm activation
06:00 PM......Crew module voice checks
06:45 PM......L-1 engineering briefing
07:00 PM......Crew weather briefing
07:00 PM......Flight crew equipment late stow
11:00 PM......Rotating service structure to park position

Sat  07/11/09

12:00 AM......Final heat shield, debris inspection
12:00 AM......Ascent switch list
03:14 AM......Resume countdown

03:44 AM......Pad clear of non-essential personnel
03:34 AM......Hydraulic power unit confidence check
04:24 AM......Fuel cell activation
05:14 AM......Booster joint heater activation
05:44 AM......Master events controller pre-flight test
05:59 AM......Tanking weather update
06:44 AM......Final fueling preps; launch area clear
07:14 AM......Red crew assembled
07:59 AM......Fuel cell integrity checks complete

08:14 AM......Begin 2-hour built-in hold (T-minus 6 hours)
08:24 AM......Safe-and-arm PIC test
09:14 AM......External tank ready for loading
09:37 AM......Mission management team tanking meeting
09:44 AM......Crew medical checks
10:14 AM......Resume countdown (T-minus 6 hours)

10:14 AM......LO2, LH2 transfer line chilldown
10:24 AM......Main propulsion system chill down
10:24 AM......LH2 slow fill
10:54 AM......LO2 slow fill
10:59 AM......Hydrogen ECO sensors go wet
11:04 AM......LO2 fast fill
11:07 AM......Crew medical checks
11:14 AM......LH2 fast fill
01:09 PM......LH2 topping
01:14 PM......LH2 replenish
01:14 PM......LO2 replenish

01:14 PM......Begin 2-hour 30-minute hold (T-minus 3 hours)
01:14 PM......Closeout crew to white room
01:14 PM......External tank in stable replenish mode
01:29 PM......Astronaut support personnel comm checks
01:59 PM......Pre-ingress switch reconfig
02:30 PM......NASA TV coverage begins
03:17 PM......Final crew weather briefing
03:27 PM......Crew suit up begins
03:44 PM......Resume countdown (T-minus 3 hours)

03:49 PM......Crew departs O&C building
04:19 PM......Crew ingress
05:09 PM......Astronaut comm checks
05:34 PM......Hatch closure
06:04 PM......White room closeout

06:24 PM......Begin 10-minute built-in hold (T-minus 20m)
06:34 PM......NASA test director countdown briefing
06:34 PM......Resume countdown (T-minus 20m)

06:35 PM......Backup flight computer to OPS 1
06:39 PM......KSC area clear to launch

06:45 PM......Begin final built-in hold (T-minus 9m)
07:15 PM......NTD launch status verification
07:30:35 PM...Resume countdown (T-minus 9m)

07:32:05 PM...Orbiter access arm retraction
07:34:35 PM...Launch window opens
07:34:35 PM...Hydraulic power system (APU) start
07:34:40 PM...Terminate LO2 replenish
07:35:35 PM...Purge sequence 4 hydraulic test
07:35:35 PM...IMUs on line
07:35:40 PM...Aerosurface steering profile
07:36:05 PM...Main engine steering test
07:36:40 PM...LO2 tank pressurization
07:36:45 PM...Gaseous oxygen vent arm retraction
07:37:00 PM...Fuel cells on line
07:37:05 PM...Clear caution-and-warning memory
07:37:35 PM...Crew closes visors
07:37:38 PM...LH2 tank pressurization
07:38:45 PM...Orbiter to internal power
07:39:04 PM...Shuttle computers take control of countdown
07:39:14 PM...SRB steering test
07:39:28 PM...Main engine start (T-6.6 seconds)
07:39:35 PM...SRB ignition (LAUNCH)

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S STATUS REPORT ON THE COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN PREVIEW AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO CAPE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: NO LEAKS FOUND DURING SPECIAL TEST PLAY
VIDEO: EXPLANATION OF THE HYDROGEN LEAK AND THE REPAIR PLAY

VIDEO: POST-SCRUB NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FIRING ROOM UPDATE WITH LAUNCH DIRECTOR PLAY
VIDEO: SCRUB NO. 2 DECLARED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK PLAY

VIDEO: SUNDAY'S UPDATE FROM MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM PLAY
VIDEO: LEAK POSTPONES SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SUN SETTING OVER PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: ANOTHER TIME-LAPSE OF GANTRY RETRACTION PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF LAUNCH PAD TOWER ROLLBACK PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH MARK POLANSKY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DOUG HURLEY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS CASSIDY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH JULIE PAYETTE PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH TOM MARSHBURN PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DAVE WOLF PLAY

VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE SCIENCE FACILITIES ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN BEGINS TICKING FOR SATURDAY'S LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: GET TO KNOW ENDEAVOUR'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE EVACUATION OF SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW BOARDS SHUTTLE FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP FOR DRESS REHEARSAL PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW INSPECTS CARGO IN THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TRAINING SESSIONS AT LAUNCH PAD AND BUNKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: INFORMAL CREW NEWS CONFERENCE AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW SETS LAUNCH DATE PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39A GANTRY ENCLOSES SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ROLLAROUND MOVES ENDEAVOUR TO PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR IS HAULED OFF LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SHUTTLE'S LAUNCH PAD SWITCH PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39B AND ITS LAST SPACE SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S SUNRISE ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MIDNIGHT ROLLOUT FROM ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CRANE ROTATES ENDEAVOUR VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORION AND ARES ROCKET PROGRESS REPORT PLAY
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