Aug 8 2007
From The Space Library
Space Shuttle Endeavour launched from NASA’s KSC on STS-118 for an ISS assembly mission. STS-118 crew included Commander Scott J. Kelly; Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh; Mission Specialists Tracy E. Caldwell, Richard A. Mastracchio, Barbara R. Morgan, Benjamin A. “Alvin” Drew Jr., and CSA astronaut Dafydd R. Williams. Astronaut Barbara R. Morgan, who had been Christa McAuliffe’s backup during NASA’s teacher-in-space program, had been a spectator at KSC when Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch on 28 January 1986. After the accident, Morgan had returned to teaching. However, in 1998 she had joined the Astronaut Corps. She was participating in STS-118 as a Mission Specialist, not as a teacher. Endeavour’s payload included the Starboard 5 (S5) truss, the Spacehab module, and external stowage platform 3, with a replacement control moment gyroscope (CMG). The mission, Endeavour’s 20th, was the first in almost five years. The Columbia tragedy in 2003 had extended Endeavour’s time on the ground. Following its last mission in December 2002, Endeavour had undergone a major overhaul involving over 194 modifications, including GPS receivers, a modern glass cockpit, a system for docking at the ISS, and a system for monitoring the three engines during launch. NASA had also replaced more than 2,000 of Endeavour’s heat tiles and blankets and more than 3,000 gap fillers between its tiles. The overhauled Shuttle seemed to launch flawlessly. NASA observed one debris event on live video, but the object appeared to have missed the orbiter.
NASA, “NASA’s Shuttle Endeavour Begins Mission to the Space Station,” news release 07-173, 8 August 2007; NASA Kennedy Space Center, “STS-118: Endeavour,” NASA Facts no. FS-2007-09-027-KSC , http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/182309main_STS-118W.pdf (accessed 7 July 2010); Chris Bergin, “Endeavour Launches: Debris Observed, But Appears To Miss Orbiter,” NASASpaceflight.com, 8 August 2007, http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2007/08/endeavour-launches-debris-observed/ (accessed 7 July 2010); Kenneth Chang, “Shuttle Endeavour Takes Off,” New York Times, 9 August 2007.
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