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.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle