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Video archive

Day 12 highlights

Inspections of Endeavour's wings and nose for space debris hits were conducted on Flight Day 12.

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Day 11 highlights

Spacewalkers on Flight Day 11 tested a method for repairing damaged shuttle heat shield tiles in space.

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Day 10 highlights

Video highlights from Flight Day 10 as the astronauts enjoyed a mid-mission light-duty day.

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STS-123 day 9 highlights

Flight Day 9 saw Dextre moved to the Destiny lab, stowing the assembly pallet and a group dinner in the Zvezda module.

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STS-123 day 8 highlights

Finishing assembly of Dextre and delivering spare parts to the station occurred during the spacewalk on Flight Day 8.

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STS-123 day 7 highlights

The space station's handyman robot Dextre flexed its arms for the first time during Flight Day 7.

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STS-123 day 6 highlights

Flight Day 6 was dedicated to the second spacewalk and continued assembly of the Dextre robot.

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STS-123 day 5 highlights

The station and shuttle crews opened up and entered Japan's new Kibo logistics module during Flight Day 5.

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STS-123 day 4 highlights

Highlights of the Kibo logistics module's attachment to the station and the first spacewalk to begin Dextre assembly.

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STS-123 day 3 highlights

This movie shows the highlights from Flight Day 3 as Endeavour docked to the space station.

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STS-123 day 2 highlights

Flight Day 2 of Endeavour's mission focused on heat shield inspections. This movie shows the day's highlights.

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STS-123 day 1 highlights

The highlights from shuttle Endeavour's launch day are packaged into this movie.

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Launching on the shuttle

Video cameras on the boosters and tank, plus a cockpit camera show what the shuttle and its astronauts experience during the trek to space.

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STS-120: In review

The STS-120 crew narrates highlights from its mission that delivered the station's Harmony module and moved the P6 power truss.

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 Mission film

STS-123: TCDT

The STS-123 astronauts complete their countdown dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center.

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STS-123: To the pad

Endeavour travels to pad 39A in the overnight hours of Feb. 18 in preparation for liftoff on STS-123.

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Introduction to ATV

Preview the maiden voyage of European's first Automated Transfer Vehicle, named Jules Verne. The craft will deliver cargo to the International Space Station.

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More video



Shuttle inspection boom to be anchored on the station
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: March 22, 2008

Astronauts Robert Behnken and Michael Foreman are preparing for a fifth and final spacewalk, a six-and-a-half hour excursion this evening to mount the shuttle Endeavour's 50-foot-long heat shield inspection boom on the space station for use by the next station assembly crew. The astronauts also plan to install an experiment package they were unable to attach earlier and inspect the station's right-side solar array rotary joint in an ongoing effort to determine what might be causing internal interference and contamination.

This will be the 109th spacewalk devoted to station assembly and maintenance since construction began in 1998, the 10th so far this year and the third each for Behnken and Foreman. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin around 5:23 p.m. when the astronauts switch their spacesuits to battery power. For identification, Behnken, call sign EV-1, will be wearing a suit with no markings. Forman, EV-2, will be wearing a suit with broken red stripes around the legs.

The primary goal of the spacewalk is to install the shuttle's 50-foot-long orbiter boom sensor system, or OBSS, on the station for use by the next shuttle crew in late May. The goal of that flight is to deliver Japan's huge Kibo lab module to the space station.

"That mission is very full, Discovery's payload bay is carrying up the very large Japanese pressurized module and there just simply wasn't enough room to carry up the boom as well," said station Flight Director Ginger Kerrick. "So a long time ago, the program decided to go ahead and leave it on board. We're going to be keeping it powered and keeping a very close watch on it and we promise it will be ready to support that mission when they arrive in May."

The boom will be attached to brackets on the front face of the station's solar power truss.

While the spacewalkers are setting up their tools and running a 30-foot-long power cord down the truss, the shuttle's robot arm will hand the sensor boom to the station arm. As soon as possible, Behnken will plug the power cable into the boom to activate internal heaters to keep the boom's laser scanner and camera warm. The arm then will release the boom so Behnken and Foreman can bolt it in place.

With the OBSS mounted on the station, Behnken and Foreman will split up. Behnken will float to Endeavour's cargo bay, retrieve the briefcase-size MISSE-6 experiment package, and make his way to the Columbus lab module. The astronauts made an initial attempt to attach the materials exposure package to a mounting plate on the outboard side of Columbus during the crew's third spacewalk last Monday. But they were unable to insert locking pins in the mounting bracket. This time around, Behnken has smaller pins and cable ties.

While Behnken focuses on MISSE-6, Foreman will make his way to the right side of the station's main power truss to inspect the starboard solar alpha rotary joint, one of two massive motor-driven joints that turn outboard solar panels to track the sun.

Last fall, engineers became concerned about high vibration levels and power usage and ordered an inspection. To their dismay, spacewalking astronauts reported metal shavings covering the interior of the bearing race ring and damage to the ring itself. One of 12 bearing assemblies later was removed and returned to Earth for analysis, along with samples of the contamination. Engineers are still not sure what is causing the damage and the joint is no longer allowed to "auto track" the sun.

Engineers are considering a plan to remove all 12 bearing assemblies and move them to an identical race ring that is available as a backup. But the work would require multiple spacewalks and flight planners don't want to take that last-resort step until they have a better idea of what might be wrong.

Behnken and Foreman originally planned to replace the bearing assembly that was removed earlier. But that task was deferred to give Behnken time to install the higher-priority MISSE package. Instead, Foreman will focus on inspection only, removing five thermal covers to examine areas of the race ring that have not yet been assessed.

Kerrick said the absence of one bearing assembly is not expected to affect flight controllers' ability to reposition the joint as required.

"The joint has an inner ring and an outer ring and evenly spaced along those rings are 12 trundle bearing assemblies," Kerrick said. "Their primary function is to hold the two rings together and provide a rolling surface for the rings that will allow the joint to rotate. Will it be a problem that we're not installing it? The short answer is no. Right before we removed the trundle bearing back in December, we had our engineering teams go off and assess whether or not we would be good operating the SARJ with 11 of 12 of those trundle bearings installed and they declared that we would be. So while we would prefer to be in our nominal config with a total of 12, it doesn't impede our operations any."

The SARJ is protected by 22 thermal blankets. Astronauts have examined the mechanism under 17 of those blankets and Foreman will inspect under the final five during this evening's spacewalk.

"The signature we were seeing was indicative of a resistance in the rotation of the joint," Kerrick said. "So the things we want to look for, we want to inspect all the mechanical components to make sure they're not wearing unevenly or somehow breaking up and causing this resistance. We would also want to investigate the potential for having a debris impact.

"So what we have been doing in a series of EVAs leading up to this (is) opening covers, because all those mechanical components are underneath thermal covers. So you open up the cover and inspect the mechanical components and then you also inspect the cover for potential debris strikes. So we've done pieces of that and for this EVA, there are five covers left - there's 22 covers total in the SARJ - so five left to go. And then we're going to go off and re-inspect one particular area."

Pictures taken during a January spacewalk showed a small area on the race ring that might be a pit or depression.

"We couldn't tell if it was damage or if it was buildup of material," Kerrick said. "So we want the crew to take a second look there because the answer to that question will help us narrow down the scope of potential problems that could be causing this."

Assuming an on-time start, the spacewalk will end around 11:53 p.m. Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EDT and mission elapsed time; includes revision J of the NASA television schedule):


EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

12:28 PM...11...10...00...Crew wakeup
01:08 PM...11...10...40...EVA-5: 14.7 psi repress/hygiene break
01:58 PM...11...11...30...EVA-5: Airlock depress to 10.2 psi
02:28 PM...11...12...00...EVA-5: Campout EVA preps
02:28 PM...11...12...00...Station arm (SSRMS) EVA-5 setup
03:48 PM...11...13...20...EVA-5: Spacesuit purge
04:03 PM...11...13...35...EVA-5: Spacesuit prebreathe
04:53 PM...11...14...25...EVA-5: Crew lock depressurization
05:23 PM...11...14...55...EVA-5: Spacesuits to battery power
05:28 PM...11...15...00...EVA-5: Airlock egress
05:33 PM...11...15...05...SSRMS grapples inspection boom (OBSS)
05:48 PM...11...15...20...EVA-5: Setup
06:03 PM...11...15...35...Shuttle arm (SRMS) releases OBSS
06:08 PM...11...15...40...EVA-5: OBSS KAU install
06:18 PM...11...15...50...OBSS handoff to spacewalkers
07:33 PM...11...17...05...Crew meals begin
07:43 PM...11...17...15...EVA-5: OBSS stow
08:58 PM...11...18...30...EVA-5 (EV1): MISSE experiment package install
08:58 PM...11...18...30...EVA-5 (EV2): Starboard SARJ inspection
11:08 PM...11...20...40...EVA-5: Cleanup
11:33 PM...11...21...05...EVA-5 Airlock ingress
11:53 PM...11...21...25...EVA-5: Airlock repressurization

03/23/08
12:08 AM...11...21...40...Post EVA spacesuit servicing
12:28 AM...11...22...00...SRMS powerdown
01:30 AM...11...23...02...Mission status briefing on NASA TV
03:58 AM...12...01...30...ISS crew sleep begins
04:28 AM...12...02...00...STS crew sleep begins
05:00 AM...12...02...32...Daily video highlights reel on NASA TV
09:30 AM...12...07...02...Flight director update on NASA TV
12:28 PM...12...10...00...Crew wakeup

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF BOOM ATTACHMENT TO ISS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 5 PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 12 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY NIGHT'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SCIENCE GLOVEBOX FACILITY MOVED INTO COLUMBUS LAB PLAY
VIDEO: INSPECTION BOOM SURVEYS SHUTTLE WINGS AND NOSE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF LATE INSPECTION PROCESS PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MORNING'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: BEHNKEN GIVES ANOTHER SHOT AT STUCK CONNECTOR PLAY
VIDEO: TILE SAMPLES AND DISPENSER STOWED IN PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: CLOSEUP VIEW OF THE 'REPAIRED' SHUTTLE TILES PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE TILE REPAIR DEMONSTRATION - PART 2 PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE TILE REPAIR DEMONSTRATION - PART 1 PLAY
VIDEO: TILE REPAIR DRY RUN PRACTICE WITH THE DISPENSER PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS SET UP WORKSITE FOR TILE REPAIR TEST PLAY
VIDEO: FOREMAN FIGHTS WITH STUCK POWER CONNECTOR PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS EGRESS AIRLOCK FOR EVA NO. 4 PLAY
VIDEO: TILE REPAIR DEMONSTRATION PREVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 4 PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF FUTURE DEXTRE WORK PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF JAPAN'S SECTION OF ISS PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH VIDEO FROM COCKPIT CAMERA W/INTERCOM PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW MEDIA INTERVIEWS WEDNESDAY NIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE VIP CALL TO STATION PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY NIGHT'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH CARRIER PALLET RETURNED TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: DEXTRE ROBOT ATTACHED TO DESTINY LAB MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF DEXTRE'S RELOCATION PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: DEXTRE ROBOT FREED FROM LAUNCH PALLET PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND SPARE DCSU BOX PLACED ON THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER UNABLE TO INSTALL MISSE EXPERIMENT PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST SPARE DCSU BOX PLACED ON THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPARE YAW JOINT FOR STATION ARM TRANSFERRED PLAY
VIDEO: MOUNTING PLATE ATTACHED TO COLUMBUS PLAY
VIDEO: DEXTRE ROBOT FITTED WITH TOOL HOLDER PLAY
VIDEO: TOOL PLATFORM ATTACHED TO DEXTRE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 3 PLAY

VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: DEXTRE MOVES ARMS FOR BRAKE TESTS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW MEDIA INTERVIEWS SUNDAY NIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY NIGHT'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND ARM ATTACHED TO DEXTRE ROBOT PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST ARM ATTACHED TO THE DEXTRE ROBOT PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS HELP DEXTRE DO A SIT-UP PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND DEXTRE ARM PULLED FROM LAUNCH CARRIER PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST ARM REMOVED FROM PALLET WITH FORCE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING MEDIA INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: STATION ARM GRAPPLES DEXTRE TO PROVIDE POWER PLAY
VIDEO: CEREMONY AT JAPANESE MODULE HATCH OPENING PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: NEW MODULE CONNECTED TO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE MODULE UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER START ASSEMBLING DEXTRE ROBOT PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE MODULE PREPPED FOR UNBERTHING PLAY
VIDEO: HARMONY DOCKING PORT PREPPED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 1 BEGINS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION PREVIEWING JAPANESE JLP MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION PREVIEWING MODULE MOVE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: DEXTRE PALLET MOVED FROM SHUTTLE TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION PREVIEWING DEXTRE ROBOT PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION PREVIEWING PALLET MOVE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: DOCKING REPLAY FROM OTHER TRUSS CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR DOCKS TO SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR PERFORMS THE 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: VIEWS OF THE SHUTTLE APPROACHING FROM BELOW PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF PREVIEWING THE DOCKING PLAY
VIDEO: UPDATE FROM MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF THE HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: THE FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY
VIDEO: THE POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS FROM ENDEAVOUR'S LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAYLOADS' LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 WIDESCREEN PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 009 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 049 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 050 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 051 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 054 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 061 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 063 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY

VIDEO: FINAL PRE-LAUNCH POLLS GIVE "GO" FOR LIFTOFF PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S CREW MODULE CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUT DOI CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT JOHNSON CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUT REISMAN CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: COMMANDER GORIE CLIMBS INTO HIS SEAT PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF SUNSET OVER PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: MORNING PREPARATIONS AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: PAD GANTRY RETRACTED FOR LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: OVERVIEW BRIEFING ON CANADA'S DEXTRE ROBOT PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW BRIEFING ON JAPAN'S KIBO FACILITIES PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: STS-123 ASTRONAUT BIOGRAPHY MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED SHORT FILM PREVIEW ENDEAVOUR'S FLIGHT PLAY

VIDEO: STS-123 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON THE SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND ISS PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: COMMANDER DOM GORIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: PILOT GREG JOHNSON PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS1 BOB BEHNKEN PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS2 MIKE FOREMAN PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS3 TAKAO DOI PLAY
VIDEO: CREW INTERVIEW: MS4 RICK LINNEHAN PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: TCDT TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS PLAY
VIDEO: PRESS CHAT WITH CREW AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT KSC FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ARRIVES AT PAD 39A PLAY | XL SIZE
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ROLLS TO THE VAB PLAY | XL SIZE
MORE: STS-123 VIDEO COVERAGE
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