STS-118: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Space mission |
{{Infobox Space mission |
  mission_name = STS-118 |
  mission_name = STS-118 |
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  crew_members = 7 |
  crew_members = 7 |
  launch_pad = [[Launch complex 39|LC-39A]] |
  launch_pad = [[Launch complex 39|LC-39A]] |
  launch = [[8 August]], [[2007]], 6:36:42 p.m. [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] (22:36:42 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]])|
  launch = 8 August 2007, 6:36:42 p.m. [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] (22:36:42 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]])|
  landing = [[21 August]], [[2007]], 12:33:20 p.m. [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] (16:33:20 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]])|
  landing = 21 August 2007, 12:33:20 p.m. [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] (16:33:20 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]])|
  duration = 12 Days, 17 Hours, 55 Minutes, 34 Seconds |
  duration = 12 Days, 17 Hours, 55 Minutes, 34 Seconds |
  altitude = 184 nautical miles (341 km) |
  altitude = 184 nautical miles (341 km) |
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  next = [[STS-120]] [[Image:Sts-120-patch.png|40px|STS-120]]
  next = [[STS-120]] [[Image:Sts-120-patch.png|40px|STS-120]]
}}
}}
 
STS-118 successfully lifted off on [[August 8]], 2007 from [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|launch pad 39A]] at [[Kennedy Space Center]] (KSC), [[Florida (U.S. state)|Florida]] and landed at the [[Shuttle Landing Facility]] at KSC on [[August 21]], 2007.
STS-118 successfully lifted off on [[August 8]], [[2007]] from [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|launch pad 39A]] at [[Kennedy Space Center]] (KSC), [[Florida]] and landed at the [[Shuttle Landing Facility]] at KSC on [[August 21]], [[2007]].


It was the first flight of ''Endeavour'' since the [[STS-113]] mission in [[November 2002]], which was the last successful Space Shuttle flight before the loss of [[Space Shuttle Columbia]] on [[STS-107]]. STS-118 pilot Charles Hobaugh had been the entry team [[Flight controller#Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM)|CAPCOM]] for STS-107. The mission added 2 more components to the International Space Station as well as bringing supplies for its crew. The completion of the mission left twelve flights remaining in the [[Space Shuttle program]] until its end in 2010, excluding two as-yet-unconfirmed Contingency Logistic Flights.  
It was the first flight of ''Endeavour'' since the [[STS-113]] mission in [[November 2002]], which was the last successful Space Shuttle flight before the loss of [[Space Shuttle Columbia]] on [[STS-107]]. STS-118 pilot Charles Hobaugh had been the entry team [[Flight controller#Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM)|CAPCOM]] for STS-107. The mission added 2 more components to the International Space Station as well as bringing supplies for its crew. The completion of the mission left twelve flights remaining in the [[Space Shuttle program]] until its end in 2010, excluding two as-yet-unconfirmed Contingency Logistic Flights.  
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==Mission payloads==
==Mission payloads==
The STS-118 mission delivered and assembled the [[starboard]] [[Integrated Truss Structure#P5, S5 trusses|S5 truss]] segment of the International Space Station, as well as [[External Stowage Platform|External Stowage Platform 3]], and a replacement [[Control Moment Gyroscope]] (CMG). The mission was also the final flight to include the [[Spacehab]] (Logistics Single Module).
The STS-118 mission delivered and assembled the [[starboard]] [[Integrated Truss Structure#P5, S5 trusses|S5 truss]] segment of the International Space Station, as well as [[External Stowage Platform|External Stowage Platform 3]], and a replacement [[Control Moment Gyroscope]] (CMG). The mission was also the final flight to include the [[Spacehab]] (Logistics Single Module).
[[Image:Sts118newcomponents.jpg|thumb|left|250px|New components added to the International Space Station after flight STS-118/13A.1. (NASA)]]
{{Image|Sts118newcomponents.jpg|left|250px|New components added to the International Space Station after flight STS-118/13A.1. (NASA)}}


The Spacehab, a pressurized aluminum habitat that is carried inside the payload bay, has a capacity of 6,000 lb (2,722 kg), and carried a variety of cargo and research projects, including supply materials for the ISS. It returned with approximately 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of cargo, including the MISSE PEC, a [[Department of Defense]] payload that had been installed on the ISS. Launched in July 2006, the MISSE PEC contains over 850 materials specimens that will be studied after their long-term exposure to the environment of space.
The Spacehab, a pressurized [[aluminium]] habitat that is carried inside the payload bay, has a capacity of 6,000 lb (2,722 kg), and carried a variety of cargo and research projects, including supply materials for the ISS. It returned with approximately 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of cargo, including the MISSE PEC, a [[Department of Defense]] payload that had been installed on the ISS. Launched in July 2006, the MISSE PEC contains over 850 materials specimens that will be studied after their long-term exposure to the environment of space.


==Mission background==
==Mission background==
[[Image:STS-118 Launchpad.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' arrives at launch pad 39A.]]
{{Image|STS-118 Launchpad.jpg|right|250px|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' arrives at launch pad 39A.}}
The mission was originally scheduled to be flown by ''Columbia''; STS-118 would have marked that orbiter's 29th flight and its first visit to the [[International Space Station]]. However, the [[Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster|Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster]] altered the planned flight schedules, and the mission was rescheduled for ''Endeavour''.  STS-118 served as ''Endeavour'''s return to flight after a planned orbiter re-fit and maintenance period.
The mission was originally scheduled to be flown by ''Columbia''; STS-118 would have marked that orbiter's 29th flight and its first visit to the [[International Space Station]]. However, the [[Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster|Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster]] altered the planned flight schedules, and the mission was rescheduled for ''Endeavour''.  STS-118 served as ''Endeavour'''s return to flight after a planned orbiter re-fit and maintenance period.


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''Endeavour'' (OV-105) was moved from the [[Orbiter Processing Facility]], bay OPF-2 to the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] on [[July 2]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Todd | last=Halvorson | coauthors= | title= Endeavour prepped for return to flight | date=2007-01-25 | publisher=Florida Today.com | url =http://www.floridatoday.com/floridatoday/blogs/spaceteam/2007/01/endeavour-prepped-for-return-to-flight.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> On [[July 10]], ''Endeavour'' moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|Launch Pad 39A]]. Moving at less than one mile per hour (1.6 km/h) atop the [[crawler-transporter]], the move began at 8:10 p.m. EDT, and was "hard down" (secured in place at the pad) at 3:02 a.m. EDT, [[July 11]].
''Endeavour'' (OV-105) was moved from the [[Orbiter Processing Facility]], bay OPF-2 to the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] on [[July 2]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Todd | last=Halvorson | coauthors= | title= Endeavour prepped for return to flight | date=2007-01-25 | publisher=Florida Today.com | url =http://www.floridatoday.com/floridatoday/blogs/spaceteam/2007/01/endeavour-prepped-for-return-to-flight.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> On [[July 10]], ''Endeavour'' moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|Launch Pad 39A]]. Moving at less than one mile per hour (1.6 km/h) atop the [[crawler-transporter]], the move began at 8:10 p.m. EDT, and was "hard down" (secured in place at the pad) at 3:02 a.m. EDT, [[July 11]].


The crew completed the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test on [[July 19]], and the Flight Readiness Review meetings were held on [[July 25]] and 26, after which NASA managers declared STS-118 a "go" for launch.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last=NASA | coauthors= | title=NASA Gives 'Go' for Shuttle Endeavour Launch on Aug. 7 | date=2007-07-26 | publisher=NASA | url =http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/jul/HQ_07166_118_launch_date.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> The launch was delayed one day to repair a valve in the shuttle's crew cabin pressurization system.<ref name="Harwood">{{cite news | first = William | last = Harwood | url = http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts118/070803crewarrival/ | title = Shuttle launch postponed; Crew flies to Cape | work = Spaceflight Now | date = [[August 3]], [[2007]] | accessdate = 2007-08-03 }}</ref>
The crew completed the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test on [[July 19]], and the Flight Readiness Review meetings were held on [[July 25]] and 26, after which NASA managers declared STS-118 a "go" for launch.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last=NASA | coauthors= | title=NASA Gives 'Go' for Shuttle Endeavour Launch on Aug. 7 | date=2007-07-26 | publisher=NASA | url =http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/jul/HQ_07166_118_launch_date.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> The launch was delayed one day to repair a valve in the shuttle's crew cabin pressurization system.<ref name="Harwood">{{cite news | first = William | last = Harwood | url = http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts118/070803crewarrival/ | title = Shuttle launch postponed; Crew flies to Cape | work = Spaceflight Now | date = [[August 3]], 2007 | accessdate = 2007-08-03 }}</ref>


Commander Kelly and the crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, [[August 3]], for final launch preparations. The countdown clock began at 8:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, [[August 5]], for the launch at 6:36 p.m. EDT [[August 8]].
Commander Kelly and the crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, [[August 3]], for final launch preparations. The countdown clock began at 8:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, [[August 5]], for the launch at 6:36 p.m. EDT [[August 8]].
[[Image:Sts-118 cargo.jpg|200px|left|thumb|From top to bottom: Orbiter docking system, Spacehab, S5 truss, ESP-3. The CMG is the globe bottom left.]]
{{Image|Sts-118 cargo.jpg|left|200px|From top to bottom: Orbiter docking system, Spacehab, S5 truss, ESP-3. The CMG is the globe bottom left.}}
STS-118 included mission specialist [[Barbara Morgan]], the first Mission Specialist Educator. Morgan trained as the backup to [[Christa McAuliffe]], NASA's [[Teacher in Space Project|Teacher in Space]] candidate from 1985 to 1986. McAuliffe was killed in the space shuttle [[Challenger accident|''Challenger'' accident]] on January 28, 1986. While McAuliffe and Morgan were classified as spaceflight participants and not as mission specialists in 1986, after the Teacher in Space Project was cancelled, Morgan assumed the duties of Teacher in Space Designee, and continued to work with NASA’s Education Division until her selection as NASA's first [[Educator Astronaut Project|Mission Specialist Educator]] in 1998. Morgan completed two years of training and evaluation, and began official duties in 2000.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= NASA | coauthors= | title=Biography of Barbara Morgan, first Mission Specialist Educator | date=2007-05-01 | publisher=NASA | url =http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/morgan.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> The educator astronaut is a fully trained astronaut who performs all the same duties that an astronaut does.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last=NASA | coauthors= | title=Preflight Interview with Barbara Morgan | date= | publisher=NASA | url =http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts118/morgan_interview.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> Morgan became the first Mission Specialist Educator in space on STS-118, and will share what she learned from the experience with students during and after her flight.  
STS-118 included mission specialist [[Barbara Morgan]], the first Mission Specialist Educator. Morgan trained as the backup to [[Christa McAuliffe]], NASA's [[Teacher in Space Project|Teacher in Space]] candidate from 1985 to 1986. McAuliffe was killed in the space shuttle [[Challenger accident|''Challenger'' accident]] on January 28, 1986. While McAuliffe and Morgan were classified as spaceflight participants and not as mission specialists in 1986, after the Teacher in Space Project was cancelled, Morgan assumed the duties of Teacher in Space Designee, and continued to work with NASA’s Education Division until her selection as NASA's first [[Educator Astronaut Project|Mission Specialist Educator]] in 1998. Morgan completed two years of training and evaluation, and began official duties in 2000.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= NASA | coauthors= | title=Biography of Barbara Morgan, first Mission Specialist Educator | date=2007-05-01 | publisher=NASA | url =http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/morgan.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> The educator astronaut is a fully trained astronaut who performs all the same duties that an astronaut does.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last=NASA | coauthors= | title=Preflight Interview with Barbara Morgan | date= | publisher=NASA | url =http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts118/morgan_interview.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref> Morgan became the first Mission Specialist Educator in space on STS-118, and will share what she learned from the experience with students during and after her flight.  


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*6th Post-''Columbia'' mission
*6th Post-''Columbia'' mission
*First flight with [[SSPTS]]
*First flight with [[SSPTS]]
==Wake-up calls==
A tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of [[Project Gemini|Gemini]], mission crews are played a special musical track at the start of each day in space. Each track is specially chosen, often by their family, and usually has special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.<ref>{{cite news | first=Colin | last=Fries | coauthors= | title=Chronology of Wakeup Calls | date=2007-06-25 | publisher=NASA | url =http://history.nasa.gov/wakeup%20calls.pdf | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = }}</ref>
<!-- List, with music, available here: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/html/ndxpage1.html -->
* Day 2: "[[Star Trek: Enterprise#Theme song|Where My Heart Will Take Me]]" by [[Russell Watson]]: played for Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio (theme song of the ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' series). [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd02.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd02.mp3 MP3]
* Day 3: "[[Mr. Blue Sky]]" by [[Electric Light Orchestra]]: played for Commander Scott Kelly. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd03.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd03.mp3 MP3]
* Day 4: "[[Gravity (John Mayer song)|Gravity]]" by [[John Mayer]]: played for Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd04.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd04.mp3 MP3]
* Day 5: "[[Up! (song)|Up!]]" by [[Shania Twain]]: played for Mission Specialist Dave Williams. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd05.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd05.mp3 MP3]
* Day 6: "Outa-Space" by [[Billy Preston]]: played for Mission Specialist Alvin Drew. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd06.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd06.mp3 MP3]
* Day 7: "[[Happy Birthday to You]]" (sung by Tracy's nieces and nephews) played for Mission Specialist Tracy Caldwell as it was her Birthday. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd07.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd07.mp3 MP3]
* Day 8: "Good Morning World" played for Barbara Morgan and written and performed by her son Adam. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd08.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd08.mp3 MP3]
* Day 9: "[[Times Like These (song)|Times Like These]]" by the [[Foo Fighters]]: played for Rick Mastracchio.  [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd09.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd09.mp3 MP3]
* Day 10: "[[Black Horse and the Cherry Tree]]" by [[KT Tunstall]]: played for Tracy Caldwell. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd10.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd10.mp3 MP3]
* Day 11: "[[Learn to Fly]]" by [[Foo Fighters]]: played for Al Drew. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd11.wav WAV] [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd11.mp3 MP3]
*Day 12: "Teacher, Teacher" by [[38 Special (band)|38 Special]] played for Barbara Morgan. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd12.wav WAV][http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd12.mp3 MP3]
*Day 13: "Flying" by [[Long John Baldry|Long John Baldry Trio]] played for Dave Williams. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd13.wav WAV][http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd13.mp3 MP3]
*Day 14: "Homeward Bound" by [[Simon and Garfunkel]] played for the entire crew. [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/wave/fd14.wav WAV][http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-118/mp3/fd14.mp3 MP3]


== Contingency mission==
== Contingency mission==
[[STS-3xx|STS-322]] was the designation given to the [[Contingency Shuttle Crew Support]] mission which would have been launched in the event [[Space Shuttle Endeavour]] had become disabled during [[STS-118]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Chris | last=Bergin | coauthors= | title=NASA sets new launch date targets through to STS-124 | date=2007-04-15 | publisher=NASASpaceflight | url =http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5076 | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-21 | language = }}</ref> It would have been a modified version of the [[STS-120]] mission, which would have involved the launch date being brought forward. If it it had been needed, it would have been launched no earlier than [[September 22]], [[2007]]. The crew for this mission would have been a four-person subset of the full STS-120 crew.
[[STS-3xx|STS-322]] was the designation given to the [[Contingency Shuttle Crew Support]] mission which would have been launched in the event [[Space Shuttle Endeavour]] had become disabled during [[STS-118]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Chris | last=Bergin | coauthors= | title=NASA sets new launch date targets through to STS-124 | date=2007-04-15 | publisher=NASASpaceflight | url =http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5076 | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-21 | language = }}</ref> It would have been a modified version of the [[STS-120]] mission, which would have involved the launch date being brought forward. If it had been needed, it would have been launched no earlier than [[September 22]], 2007. The crew for this mission would have been a four-person subset of the full STS-120 crew.
 
==See also==
* [[Space science]]
* [[Space Shuttle]]
* [[List of space shuttle missions]]
* [[List of human spaceflights chronologically]]
* [[2007 in spaceflight]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
* [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-118/index.html STS-118 mission summary]
* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/ NASA Space Shuttle News]
* [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/support/training/nbl/ Behind the scenes at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab]
* [http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/forum-view.asp?fid=4 NASAspaceflight.com STS 118 forum]
* [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20070020343_2007018370.pdf EVA Hazards due to Inspection and Repair]
* [http://www.scidaho.org Discovery Center of Idaho]
[[Category:CZ Live]]
[[Category:Engineering Workgroup]]

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STS-118
Mission statistics
Mission name: STS-118
Launch: 8 August 2007, 6:36:42 p.m. EDT (22:36:42 UTC)
Landing: 21 August 2007, 12:33:20 p.m. EDT (16:33:20 UTC)
Duration: 12 Days, 17 Hours, 55 Minutes, 34 Seconds
Navigation

Previous Mission

Next Mission

{{{previous_mission}}}

{{{next_mission}}}

STS-118 successfully lifted off on August 8, 2007 from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC on August 21, 2007.

It was the first flight of Endeavour since the STS-113 mission in November 2002, which was the last successful Space Shuttle flight before the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-107. STS-118 pilot Charles Hobaugh had been the entry team CAPCOM for STS-107. The mission added 2 more components to the International Space Station as well as bringing supplies for its crew. The completion of the mission left twelve flights remaining in the Space Shuttle program until its end in 2010, excluding two as-yet-unconfirmed Contingency Logistic Flights.

The mission marked the first flight of an Educator Mission Specialist. The program is the successor to NASA's Teacher in Space Project, which ended when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after lift-off during STS-51-L in 1986. [1] Four educator mission specialists have been selected: Barbara Morgan in 1998 and three more educators in the astronaut class of 2004. [2]

During and after the mission, the media focused heavily on a small puncture in the heat shield, created by a piece of insulation foam that had come off the external tank of Endeavour during liftoff. Foam impact was the cause of the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia, but this was a very small damage in comparison and in a much less critical area of the shuttle. KSC Launch Director Mike Leinbach mentioned in the post-flight press conference, that upon initial inspection on the ground "Endeavour appears to be the 'cleanest' post-flight orbiter since Return to Flight".

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of space flights by each individual prior to, and including, this mission.

Crew notes

Astronaut Clayton Anderson originally was slated to be launched to the ISS on this mission, but was moved to STS-117. His replacement was Al Drew.[3]

Prior to the Columbia disaster, the initial crew manifest for STS-118 was:

Mission parameters

Mission payloads

The STS-118 mission delivered and assembled the starboard S5 truss segment of the International Space Station, as well as External Stowage Platform 3, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG). The mission was also the final flight to include the Spacehab (Logistics Single Module).

New components added to the International Space Station after flight STS-118/13A.1. (NASA)

The Spacehab, a pressurized aluminium habitat that is carried inside the payload bay, has a capacity of 6,000 lb (2,722 kg), and carried a variety of cargo and research projects, including supply materials for the ISS. It returned with approximately 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of cargo, including the MISSE PEC, a Department of Defense payload that had been installed on the ISS. Launched in July 2006, the MISSE PEC contains over 850 materials specimens that will be studied after their long-term exposure to the environment of space.

Mission background

Space Shuttle Endeavour arrives at launch pad 39A.

The mission was originally scheduled to be flown by Columbia; STS-118 would have marked that orbiter's 29th flight and its first visit to the International Space Station. However, the Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster altered the planned flight schedules, and the mission was rescheduled for Endeavour. STS-118 served as Endeavour's return to flight after a planned orbiter re-fit and maintenance period.

As a result of Endeavour's planned refit, STS-118 marked the debut of an upgraded power-distribution module, the Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS). SSPTS allows Endeavour to operate from ISS power supply, converting up to eight kilowatts (8 kW) of electrical power from 120-volts direct-current (120VDC) ISS main voltage to the 28VDC system used by the Shuttle Orbiter. SSPTS was outfitted to the ISS Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA2) during STS-116. These upgrades will allow orbiters to remain docked at the station for an additional three to four days during each of the remaining Shuttle missions.[6] [7][8]

Endeavour (OV-105) was moved from the Orbiter Processing Facility, bay OPF-2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building on July 2.[9] On July 10, Endeavour moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A. Moving at less than one mile per hour (1.6 km/h) atop the crawler-transporter, the move began at 8:10 p.m. EDT, and was "hard down" (secured in place at the pad) at 3:02 a.m. EDT, July 11.

The crew completed the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test on July 19, and the Flight Readiness Review meetings were held on July 25 and 26, after which NASA managers declared STS-118 a "go" for launch.[10] The launch was delayed one day to repair a valve in the shuttle's crew cabin pressurization system.[11]

Commander Kelly and the crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, August 3, for final launch preparations. The countdown clock began at 8:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, August 5, for the launch at 6:36 p.m. EDT August 8.

From top to bottom: Orbiter docking system, Spacehab, S5 truss, ESP-3. The CMG is the globe bottom left.

STS-118 included mission specialist Barbara Morgan, the first Mission Specialist Educator. Morgan trained as the backup to Christa McAuliffe, NASA's Teacher in Space candidate from 1985 to 1986. McAuliffe was killed in the space shuttle Challenger accident on January 28, 1986. While McAuliffe and Morgan were classified as spaceflight participants and not as mission specialists in 1986, after the Teacher in Space Project was cancelled, Morgan assumed the duties of Teacher in Space Designee, and continued to work with NASA’s Education Division until her selection as NASA's first Mission Specialist Educator in 1998. Morgan completed two years of training and evaluation, and began official duties in 2000.[12] The educator astronaut is a fully trained astronaut who performs all the same duties that an astronaut does.[13] Morgan became the first Mission Specialist Educator in space on STS-118, and will share what she learned from the experience with students during and after her flight.

Whether you’re teaching school, or whether you’re training as an astronaut, you put all you can into it, and get the most out of it. - Barbara Morgan[14]

The mission marked:

  • 150th manned US space launch
  • 119th Space Shuttle flight
  • 22nd International Space Station assembly mission
  • 20th flight of Endeavour
  • 94th Post-Challenger mission
  • 6th Post-Columbia mission
  • First flight with SSPTS

Contingency mission

STS-322 was the designation given to the Contingency Shuttle Crew Support mission which would have been launched in the event Space Shuttle Endeavour had become disabled during STS-118.[15] It would have been a modified version of the STS-120 mission, which would have involved the launch date being brought forward. If it had been needed, it would have been launched no earlier than September 22, 2007. The crew for this mission would have been a four-person subset of the full STS-120 crew.

References

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