15-Day Mission Will Include Four Spacewalks
ANN REALTIME REPORTING
11.14.08 1955 EST: STS-126 is heading to the International
Space Station, following a successful liftoff from Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
"Preparing our home in space for a larger international family,"
said Launch Commentator Candrea Thomas as Endeavour cleared the
launch pad, referring to the mission's primary objective -- to
install additional living quarters and other equipment to support a
six-person crew onboard the ISS.
The 15-day mission will also include four spacewalks, to service
the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, or SARJ, which are
needed to track the sun for electric power.
As STS-126 will be in orbit through the Thanksgiving holiday in
the US, Endeavour is also carrying many of the fixings for a
traditional holiday dinner.
Original Report
1946 EST: We're at T-Minus nine minutes and
holding for the lift off of STS-126 space shuttle Endeavour... and
NASA has hit a glitch in its plans to launch the orbiter.
The inner door to the White Room attached to the gantry
failed to properly secure, and crews spent time assessing any
potential damage to the gantry or the orbiter.
After verifying the door would not impact the orbiter in case it
swung open due to vibrations in the launch -- a handrail would stop
the door from hitting the spacrcraft -- crews discussed potential
damage to the gantry itself... and signed off on the launch in the
current state.
NASA has just restarted the countdown.
1655 EST: We're three hours away from the
scheduled launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-126
mission to the International Space Station, and so far conditions
remain "go" for a night time liftoff.
Forecasted weather conditions remain favorable for the scheduled
7:55 pm EST launch time. At this writing, winds at Kennedy Space
Center are above the acceptable threshold for a shuttle launch, at
14 knots gusting to 21... but those winds are supposed to calm
before launch time.
STS-126 will transport some much-needed improvements to the ISS,
including two additional sleeping berths, a new refrigerator, and a
kitchenette. The first components of an innovative water filtering
and recycling system will also be installed.
Astronauts are also scheduled to perform repairs to a
problematic joint on one of the station's solar arrays, that has
caused problems since late last year. Three crewmembers will take
turns cleaning and lubricating the right-side solar alpha rotary
joint.