Shuttle Endeavour to Launch from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral on August 8th
August 1st, 2007
Cape Canaveral, FL - NASA managers have set Aug. 8 as the official launch date for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-118 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is scheduled for 6:36 p.m. EDT.
Launch preparations continue at Launch Pad 39A. Hypergolic propellant has been loaded into the solid rocket booster hydraulic power units, as well as Endeavour’s orbital maneuvering system, forward reaction control system and auxiliary power units. The suits to be worn on the mission’s spacewalks have been stowed, and flight crew equipment and supplies are being loaded into the crew cabin. Payload closeouts include camera tests on the shuttle’s robotic arm and orbiter boom sensor system.
Space Shuttle Mission STS-118
Mission: Space Station Assembly Mission 13A.1
Launch Date: August 8
Launch Time: 6:36 p.m. EDT
Launch Window: 10 minutes
Launch Pad: 39A
The 22nd flight to the International Space Station, STS-118 will be the first flight for Endeavour since 2002, and the first mission for Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan, the teacher-turned-astronaut whose association with NASA began more than 20 years ago.
Mission Details
During the 11-day mission, Endeavour’s crew will add another truss segment to the expanding station, install a new gyroscope on the complex and add an external spare parts platform. The flight will include at least three spacewalks. The crew will debut a new system that enables docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend visits to the outpost. If this system functions as expected, three additional days will be added to the STS-118 mission.
The mission will be Endeavour’s first flight in more than four and a half years. The spacecraft has undergone extensive modifications, including the addition of safety upgrades already added to shuttles Discovery and Atlantis.
STS-118 Crew
Commander Scott Kelly and his six crewmates are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, for final launch preparations. The countdown is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4.
Joining Kelly on the flight will be Pilot Charlie Hobaugh and mission specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Barbara R. Morgan, Alvin Drew and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dave Williams.
