STS-126

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  33441 / 08059A Launch date - time  15 Nov 2008 - 00:55 UT Launch site  KSC, LC39A Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle Orbiter  Endeavour #22 Primary payload  MPLM 1-05 (Leonardo F5) Mass (kg)   Docking date - time  16 Nov 2008 - 22:01 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/PMA-2 on Harmony Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee   km    - Inclination  °    - Period   min Undocking date - time  28 Nov 2008 - 14:47 UT Landing date - time  29 (30?) Nov 2008 - 21:25 UT Landing location  Runway 04L, Edwards AFB Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  15d 20h 30m Nbr orbits  249 Landing crew  Magnus replaced by Chamitoff (STS-124)

Crew

Backup Crew Nr. Name Job 7  Stott, Nicole Marie Passonno  Flight Engineer

Mission details:

• STS-126 was launched from Mobile Launch Platform 3 on Pad 39A on Nov 15, 2008. It is ISS flight ULF-2 (Utilization and Logistics Flight 2) with Orbiter OV-105 Endeavour, External Tank ET-129 and Solid Rocket Motors RSRM-104 (SRB set BI-136). Endeavour and ET-129 reached an orbit of 59 x 230 km x 51.6 deg, 8 min after launch. At 0134 UTC Endeavour executed the OMS-2 burn into a 158 x 230 km orbit.
• Payload bay equipment manifest for STS-126:

    Name                             Bay location   Mass (kg,guess)
  
    Orbiter Docking System           1-2            1800
     with EMU 3005, 3011 suits                       260?
    APC/SPDU                         3 port          100?
    APC/SSPL Picosat launcher        3 stbd           50
    PSSC Picosats                                     7
    ROEU 751 umbilical               7 stbd           50?
    Leonardo (MPLM-1)                7-12          12748
    Lightweight MPESS Carrier (LMC) 13              1495 kg
    RMS 201                          Sill            410
    OBSS                             Sill            450?
    ----------------------------------------------------
                                       Cargo total 17370
  

• Total mass of the orbiter at ET separation is 116500 kg.
• This flight doesn't add anything significant to the outside of the ISS, but stocks up the interior, making the ISS more liveable. The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo is carrying 6956 kg of cargo including two crew quarters racks, and three racks to support the cycling of consumables through the crew: the Galley rack, for consuming things which later pass through the WHC (Waste and Hygiene Compartment) rack, and then two Water Recovery System racks which recycle the waste into drinkable water to begin again. There's also an experiment rack, the CIR (Combustion integration rack), and miscellaneous supplies in three RSRs (Resupply Stowage Racks) and six RSPs (Resupply Stowage Platforms).
• Endeavour entered in a 158 x 230 km orbit following launch on Nov 15, and docked with the PMA-2 unit on the Harmony module at 2201 UTC on Nov 16. Transfer Magnus to ISS and Chamitoff to the STS-126-crew.
• At 1709 UTC on Nov 17 the ISS robot arm (SSRMS) unberthed the MPLM-1 Leonardo module from Endeavour's bay and by 1804 UTC it was attached to the Harmony module nadir port.
  
  
• First EVA by Heidi Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen on Nov 18 (6h 52m) from the Quest module using EMU suits 3005 and 3003. Quest reached 50 mbar at around 1805 UTC, and the hatch was opened around 1808 UTC. The astronauts transferred an empty airlock nitrogen tank from the ESP-3 stowage pallet on the Station to the LMC carrier in Endeavour, and brought back to ESP-3 a new spare part, the Flexible Hose Rotary Coupler. They then began the major outdoor work of the mission, the cleaning and maintenance of the Solar Array Rotary Joint (SARJ) on the S3 truss segment. Trundle Bearing Assembly units were replaced and the SARJ 'race ring' was lubricated. At 2038 UTC Stefanyshyn-Piper's 14 kg tool bag accidentally floated away; the work continued with spare tools. The astronauts returned to the airlock around 0050 UTC on Nov 19, with hatch closed at 0057 UTC and repressurization at 0101 UTC. The crew lock bag was cataloged as object 33442, 1998-067BL, and is in a 348 x 353 km orbit. One other ISS debris object is still aloft, a jettisoned thruster cover from EVA-20A on 2008 Jul 11; its orbit is 309 x 320 km.
• On flight day 6 there were no EVA-activities and the crew installed two crew quarters racks into the Harmony node, and installed a rack with equipment to be returned to Earth into the MPLM (Leonardo). The crew also began working on activating the Water Recovery System, so that samples of water from two areas could be taken and returned to Earth with Endeavour.
  
  
• EVA-2 was on Nov 20 by Stefanyshyn-Piper and Kimbrough (6h 45m), wearing EMU suits 3005 and 3018. They moved the two CETA equipment carts from the starboard to the port side of the Mobile Transporter, setting the stage for the installation of the starboard S6 truss (scheduled for February 2009). The spacewalkers also lubricated the end effector, or hand, of the Canadarm2, the station's robotic arm. They also continued lubricating the starboard SARJ and replacing trundle bearings. Depressurization to 50 mbar was at 1752 UTC and the hatch was open at 1757 UTC; hatch was closed at 0039 UTC on Nov 21 with repressurization at 0042 UTC.
• On flight day 8 Fincke and Magnus tested latches on the Exposed Facility Berthing Mechanism for the Japanese Kibo laboratory. Magnus continued with the installation of the Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA), while engineers on the ground worked through troubleshooting of the Urine Processor Assembly. The component ran initially on Thursday evening, but shut itself down during that initial test, and shut down again the following morning after two hours of operations.
• The third spacewalk was on Nov 22 by Bowen and Stefanyshyn-Piper (6h 57m), wearing suits 3003 and 3005. Quest reached 50 mbar at about 1758 UTC with hatch open at 1800 UTC. The astronauts continued servicing the SARJ. Hatch was closed at 0052 UTC on Nov 23 with repressurization beginning at 0058 UTC.
• The two crews (Station and Shuttle) continued transfer operations on Flight day 10, and Fincke and Pettit worked together to reconfigure the Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) to try to dampen any vibration that may be contributing to the unit's shutting down prematurely. The unit had continued to operate sporadically, shutting itself down after two to three hours of operations, and the engineers on the ground were still evaluating the possible causes and solutions.
• EVA-4 was on Nov 24 (6h 07m); Kimbrough and Bowen completed the SARJ work and installed an external TV camera and a GPS antenna to support docking of JAXA's HTV cargo ship. Airlock depress was around 1819 UTC with hatch open at 1822 UTC; hatch close at 0029 UTC on Nov 25 with repressurization at 0031 UTC.
• Meanwhile the managers on the groud had decided to extend Endeavours mission to allow the crews more time to resolve the issues with the Urine Processing Assembly. And the UPA finally appeared to be functioning normally after the modifications performed by the crew on orbit.
• On Nov 26 the Leonardo module was returned from Harmony to Endeavour. Endeavour undocked at 1447 UTC on Nov 28. At 2033 UTC on Nov 29, the 7 kg PicoSat Solar Cell Testbed Experiment, PSSC Testbed, was deployed. It is a pathfinder for a later PSSC mission to geostationary transfer orbit to study radiation degradation of solar cells.
• Due to bad weather at the primary landing site at Cape Canaveral (KSC) the Endeavour landing was moved to the Edwards AFB.
  On Nov 29 at 2019 UTC Endeavour fired its OMS engines to reduce velocity by 89 m/s, putting it on a reentry path. The Shuttle landed on temporary runway 04L at Edwards AFB in California at 2125 UTC. (The main runway 04R/22L is being refurbished, and a new, shorter temporary runway is in place as 04L/22R.) On Dec 10 Endeavour began its trek back to Florida atop Shuttle Carrier Aircraft NASA 911.
  

  The modified 747 carrier aircraft carrying the Endeavour, lifts off from Edwards AFB on the first leg of its ferry flight back to KSC. December 10, 2008. Credit: NASA

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel KSC. Credit: J. Vd Dr.

Landing cancel Edwards AFB. Credit: J. Vd Dr.