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Launching on the shuttle

Video cameras on the boosters and tank, plus a cockpit camera show what the shuttle and its astronauts experience during the trek to space.

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STS-120: In review

The STS-120 crew narrates highlights from its mission that delivered the station's Harmony module and moved the P6 power truss.

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 Mission film

STS-123: TCDT

The STS-123 astronauts complete their countdown dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center.

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STS-123: To the pad

Endeavour travels to pad 39A in the overnight hours of Feb. 18 in preparation for liftoff on STS-123.

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Progress docking

The 28th Progress resupply ship launched to the International Space Station successfully docks.

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NASA '09 budget

NASA officials present President Bush's proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget for the agency.

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Introduction to ATV

Preview the maiden voyage of European's first Automated Transfer Vehicle, named Jules Verne. The craft will deliver cargo to the International Space Station.

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Station repair job

Station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Dan Tani replace a broken solar array drive motor during a 7-hour spacewalk.

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Mercury science

Scientists present imagery and instrument data collected by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft during its flyby of Mercury.

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Expedition 17 crew

Pre-flight news briefing with the crew members to serve aboard the space station during various stages of Expedition 17.

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Crew awakened for evening of heat shield inspections
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: March 11, 2008

The Endeavour astronauts were awakened today at 4:29 p.m. to begin their first full day in space. Heat shield inspections are planned, along with spacesuit check outs, rendezvous preps and a pair of rocket firings to fine tune the shuttle's approach to the international space station. At crew wakeup, the shuttle was about 1,000 miles behind the lab complex, on course for docking Wednesday night.

Engineers on the ground, meanwhile, are analyzing launch imagery to identify any possible ascent debris strikes from falling external tank foam insulation or other sources. Just before the crew went to bed earlier today, flight controllers reported a possible debris impact event about 10 seconds after launch. Another possible debris event was noted at 83 seconds into flight but no impact was observed.

Endeavour took off at 2:28:14 a.m. and given the reduced lighting with a night launch, the astronauts will rely more on detailed orbital inspections to verify the health of the ship's heat shield than would be the case for a daylight ascent.

The astronauts were awakened by a recording of "Linus and Lucy" from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" beamed up from mission control in Houston for shuttle flight engineer Mike Foreman.

"Good morning, Endeavour. And a special good morning to you, Mike," astronaut Al Drew radioed from the Johnson Space Center.

"Well good morning, Houston, we appreciate that song," Foreman replied. "We had an exciting trip to orbit yesterday morning and we're looking forward to our first full day in orbit."

The major activity in space today is a detailed inspection of Endeavour's reinforced carbon carbon nose cap and wing leading edge panels, which experience the most extreme heating during re-entry. The astronauts also will use cameras on the shuttle's robot arm to inspect tiles protecting the upper surfaces of the shuttle, including two aft rocket pods.

The possible impact event at T-plus 10 seconds occurred in the nose area of the shuttle, but nothing obvious could be seen in the launch video from NASA television.

For today's inspections, commander Dominic Gorie, pilot Gregory Johnson and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi will use the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot arm and the equally long orbiter boom sensor system, or OBSS, mounted along the right side of Endeavour's cargo bay. The OBSS is equipped with a laser scanner and high-resolution cameras capable of spotting any significant impact damage to the critical nose cap and wing leading edge panels.

"We're all operating the shuttle's robotic arm and we'll first grapple the OBSS, the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, and it about doubles the length of the arm," Johnson said in a NASA interview. "Then we can reach around and look underneath the orbiter and check out all the tiles and the reinforced carbon carbon and we can also reach around and look at the nose of the shuttle. It's an all-day task."

While the heat shield inspection is going on, the other crew members will check out the spacesuits that will be used for station assembly spacewalks later in the mission, test the handheld lasers and other gear needed for the station rendezvous and rig the ship for docking. A mission status briefing is planned for 2 a.m. Wednesday on NASA television.

Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EDT and mission elapsed time; supercedes revision A of the NASA television schedule; briefing times are unchanged):


EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

Tue 04:28 PM...00...14...00...Crew wakeup
Tue 06:33 PM...00...16...05...Shuttle robot arm (SRMS) checkout
Tue 07:08 PM...00...16...40...Laptop computer setup (part 2)
Tue 07:46 PM...00...17...18...NC-2 rendezvous rocket firing
Tue 07:53 PM...00...17...25...SRMS unberths OBSS inspection boom
Tue 08:08 PM...00...17...40...Spacesuit checkout preps
Tue 08:28 PM...00...18...00...Ergometer setup
Tue 08:38 PM...00...18...10...Spacesuit checkout
Tue 09:08 PM...00...18...40...OBSS starboard wing survey
Tue 10:28 PM...00...20...00...Crew meal
Tue 11:03 PM...00...20...35...OBSS nose cap survey
Tue 11:28 PM...00...21...00...EVA equipment prepped for transfer to station

03/12/08
Wed 12:53 AM...00...22...25...OBSS port wing survey
Wed 12:58 AM...00...22...30...Logistics transfer preps
Wed 02:00 AM...00...23...32...Mission status briefing on NASA TV
Wed 02:28 AM...01...00...00...OMS rocket pod survey
Wed 02:28 AM...01...00...00...Centerline camera setup in docking system
Wed 02:53 AM...01...00...25...SRMS berths OBSS
Wed 02:58 AM...01...00...30...Orbiter docking system ring extension
Wed 03:13 AM...01...00...45...Laser data downlink
Wed 03:38 AM...01...01...10...Rendezvous tools checkout
Wed 04:58 AM...01...02...30...NC-3 rendezvous rocket firing
Wed 08:03 AM...01...05...35...Crew sleep begins
Wed 09:00 AM...01...06...32...Daily video highlights reel on NASA TV

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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF THE HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY
VIDEO: THE POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS FROM ENDEAVOUR'S LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAYLOADS' LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 WIDESCREEN PLAY

VIDEO: FINAL PRE-LAUNCH POLLS GIVE "GO" FOR LIFTOFF PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S CREW MODULE CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUT DOI CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT JOHNSON CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUT REISMAN CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: COMMANDER GORIE CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF SUNSET OVER PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: MORNING PREPARATIONS AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: PAD GANTRY RETRACTED FOR LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: OVERVIEW BRIEFING ON CANADA'S DEXTRE ROBOT PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW BRIEFING ON JAPAN'S KIBO FACILITIES PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: STS-123 ASTRONAUT BIOGRAPHY MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED SHORT FILM PREVIEW ENDEAVOUR'S FLIGHT PLAY

VIDEO: STS-123 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON THE SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND ISS PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: COMMANDER DOM GORIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: PILOT GREG JOHNSON PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS1 BOB BEHNKEN PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS2 MIKE FOREMAN PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS3 TAKAO DOI PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS4 RICK LINNEHAN PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: TCDT TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS PLAY
VIDEO: PRESS CHAT WITH CREW AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT KSC FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ARRIVES AT PAD 39A PLAY | XL SIZE
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ROLLS TO THE VAB PLAY | XL SIZE
MORE: STS-123 VIDEO COVERAGE
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