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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 fueling begins for Monday launch try
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 13, 2009


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Running a month behind scheduled because of hydrogen leaks, launch pad lightning strikes and stormy weather, NASA managers have cleared the shuttle Endeavour for a fifth launch attempt today to kick off a 16-day space station construction mission. Forecasters are predicting a 60 percent chance of another delay due to expected afternoon storms.

Hoping for the best, engineers began pumping liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket fuel to the shuttle's external tank at 9:33 a.m. The fueling procedure should be complete by around 12:33 p.m., a few minutes after the start of a planned two-and-a-half-hour hold at the T-minus three-hour mark.

NASA television coverage is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. and the countdown will resume at 2:56 p.m. If all goes well, commander Mark Polansky, pilot Douglas Hurley, Canadian flight engineer Julie Payette, David Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Thomas Marshburn and space station flight engineer Timothy Kopra will begin strapping in around 3:30 p.m. for a launch attempt at 6:51:24 p.m.

"While we all hope that today's the day, we have a saying that you never know for sure until the solid rockets light off," Polansky said in a Twitter posting early today.

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The only technical issue under discussion overnight centered on a partially detached Tyvek cover over one of Endeavour's rocket thrusters. The covers, used to keep rain water and debris out of the shuttle's thruster nozzles on the launch pad, pull away during the early moments of flight.

The only way to re-attach or replace the debonded cover is to move a protective gantry back in place around the shuttle, work that could trigger a 24-hour launch delay. Overnight, engineers decided to leave the cover as is.

As it now stands, NASA must get Endeavour off the pad by Tuesday or the flight will be delayed until July 27 to make way for a high-priority Russian Progress resupply mission scheduled for launch July 24.

The Progress can "loiter" in orbit for five days, but it must dock by July 29. And that means Endeavour must take off by Tuesday to complete a full-duration five-spacewalk mission in time to undock by July 27, making way for the Progress.

Depending on how today's launch attempt play out, the Russians might agree to give NASA additional time, but that likely would require space station managers to reduce mission content. The forecast calls for another 60 percent chance of bad weather Tuesday and a 40 percent chance Wednesday.

Here is the remainder of today's countdown (in EDT; best viewed with fixed-width font):


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

Monday, July 13

09:26 AM......Resume countdown (T-minus 6 hours)
09:33 AM......LO2, LH2 transfer line chilldown
09:43 AM......Main propulsion system chill down
09:43 AM......LH2 slow fill
10:13 AM......LO2 slow fill
10:18 AM......Hydrogen ECO sensors go wet
10:23 AM......LO2 fast fill
10:26 AM......Crew medical checks
10:33 AM......LH2 fast fill

12:26 PM......Begin 2-hour 30-minute built-in hold (T-minus 3 hours)
12:33 PM......LH2 replenish
12:33 PM......LO2 replenish
12:33 PM......Closeout crew to white room
12:33 PM......External tank in stable replenish mode
12:41 PM......Astronaut support personnel comm checks
01:11 PM......Pre-ingress switch reconfig
01:30 PM......NASA TV coverage begins
02:29 PM......Final crew weather briefing
02:39 PM......Crew suit up begins
02:56 PM......Resume countdown (T-minus 3 hours)

03:01 PM......Crew departs O&C building
03:31 PM......Crew ingress
04:21 PM......Astronaut comm checks
04:46 PM......Hatch closure
05:16 PM......White room closeout

05:36 PM......Begin 10-minute built-in hold (T-minus 20m)
05:46 PM......NASA test director countdown briefing
05:46 PM......Resume countdown (T-minus 20m)

05:47 PM......Backup flight computer to OPS 1
05:51 PM......KSC area clear to launch

05:57 PM......Begin final built-in hold (T-minus 9m)
06:27 PM......NTD launch status verification
06:42:24 PM...Resume countdown (T-minus 9m)

06:43:54 PM...Orbiter access arm retraction
06:46:24 PM...Launch window opens
06:46:24 PM...Hydraulic power system (APU) start
06:46:29 PM...Terminate LO2 replenish
06:47:24 PM...Purge sequence 4 hydraulic test
06:47:24 PM...IMUs to inertial
06:47:29 PM...Aerosurface steering profile
06:47:54 PM...Main engine steering test
06:48:29 PM...LO2 tank pressurization
06:48:34 PM...GOX vent arm retraction
06:48:49 PM...Fuel cells to internal reactants
06:48:54 PM...Clear caution-and-warning memory
06:49:24 PM...Crew closes visors
06:49:27 PM...LH2 tank pressurization
06:50:34 PM...Orbiter to internal power
06:50:53 PM...Shuttle computers take control of countdown
06:51:03 PM...SRB steering test
06:51:17 PM...Main engine start (T-6.6 seconds)
06:51:24 PM...SRB ignition (LAUNCH)

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: LIGHTNING STRIKES POSTPONE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY
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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