Spaceflight Now




Spaceflight Now +



Subscribe to Spaceflight Now Plus for access to our extensive video collections!
How do I sign up?
Video archive

STS-126: The programs

In advance of shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission to the station, managers from both programs discuss the flight.

 Play

STS-126: The mission

A detailed preview of Endeavour's mission to deliver expanded crew accommodations to the station is provided in this briefing.

 Play

STS-126: Spacewalks

Four spacewalks are planned during Endeavour's STS-126 mission to the station.

 Play

STS-126: The Crew

The Endeavour astronauts, led by commander Chris Ferguson, meet the press in the traditional pre-flight news conference.

 Play

Shuttle rollaround

Space shuttle Endeavour switched launch pads on Oct. 23, traveling from pad 39B to pad 39A.

 Play

Two shuttles sighted

Stunning aerial views of shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour perched atop launch pads 39A and 39B on Sept. 20.

 Play | Hi-Def

Endeavour to the VAB

For its role as a rescue craft during the Hubble servicing mission and the scheduled November logistics run to the space station, Endeavour is moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

 Play

Become a subscriber
More video



Leonardo to be detached; Progress has antenna problem
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: November 26, 2008

An unmanned Russian Progress supply ship, loaded with rocket fuel, water, oxygen and nearly 3,000 pounds of cargo, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today at 7:38 a.m. EST, bound for a docking with the international space station Sunday. The climb to space was uneventful and shortly after reaching orbit, the spacecraft's solar panels unfolded as planned. But officials said one of two proximity antennas, part of the vehicle's automated docking system, failed to deploy, raising the prospect of a manual linkup by remote control.

Docking at the station's Pirs module is scheduled for 7:23 a.m. Sunday, about six hours before the shuttle Endeavour's landing at the Kennedy Space Center to close out a marathon assembly mission. Progress cargo ships normally fly fully automated approaches, but a manual "TORU" system also is available as a backup. If the stuck antenna cannot be coaxed into its normal deployed position, station flight engineer Yury Lonchakov, operating controls in the Zvezda command module, will have to manually guide the Progress through the final 65 feet or so to the station.

"We have the first maneuver done and everything is well except for one thing," Russian flight control called around 9:45 a.m. "One of the antennas did not get deployed. It is still folded. ... We will ask you to use the TORU in the manual mode for bringing Progress to docking. Copy? That's why TORU (training) today is very important. The instructors are in here, please make sure you refresh everything so that everything is clear. Because the probability for the use of this mode is very high."

"I copy," Lonchakov replied.

The Progress 31P spacecraft is loaded with 1,808 pounds of propellant, 108 pounds of oxygen, 463 pounds of water and 2,963 pounds of cargo. It also is equipped with new navigation equipment being tested for use in upgraded Soyuz crew ships.

"The arrival of a Progress is always something the crews look forward to because there will always be some type of fresh food on there for them as well as some care packages and also the items that maybe aren't quite as interesting but certainly necessary for sustaining the ISS," station Flight Director Brian Smith said earlier today.

Aboard the space station today, the Endeavour astronauts face a busy day of work to close out the Leonardo cargo module and, using the station's robot arm, move it from the Harmony module's downward facing port back to the shuttle's cargo bay for return to Earth. Also known as a multi-purpose logistics module, or MPLM, Leonardo was launched with more than 14,000 pounds of cargo, including new water recycling equipment, a new toilet, a galley and two crew sleep stations that are part of NASA's push to expand crew size from three to six next May.

The water recycling equipment, designed to convert condensate and urine into fresh water, is critical to those plans. The astronauts resolved startup problems with the urine processing assembly by removing rubber vibration dampers and firmly bolting it to its mounting shelf. Since then, Smith said, the system has operated smoothly and the astronauts will be able to bring the required samples home to help engineers assess the system's performance.

"Last night, we completed what will be the final run of the urine processor assembly for this docked phase of the mission," Smith said. "So that was excellent news, we were happy to see it made it all the way through the run and we have as much processing out of it that we need to to collect the proper samples that are scheduled for return. We're still going to run the water processing assembly later on today. And then the crew's going to ... take different samples for us and by the end of the day, they'll have them all complete. So the urine processing assembly performed well over the last few days and we got what we need out of it."

Reflecting on the startup trouble with the UPA, Smith said "it's pretty amazing to see that we've made it all the way to this point where we actually have in the plan the last water sample to be collected."

"The sampling plan has changed from what it was pre-flight and it's changed so it'll put the ISS program in a better posture for making a decision about their readiness for six-person crew early next year," he said. "So we were glad ... we were able to find a way to get the equipment working and come up with a plan that would accommodate all the samples that had been requested."

Starting shortly after 1 p.m., the astronauts plan to depressurize the vestibule between the Harmony module's nadir port and Leonardo's hatch. Astronauts Don Pettit and Robert "Shane" Kimbrough, operating the space station's robot arm, plan to detach the cargo module around 4:50 p.m. and carefully move it back to its mounting point at the rear of Endeavour's cargo bay for return to Earth.

"Everything that's going into the MPLM is in," Smith said. "We have a few items that, by design, come out at the very last minute and the crew will retrieve those out of the MPLM today and then we'll go through the operations to close it out, depressurize the vestibule between the node 2 and the MPLM and the crew will place the MPLM back into the payload bay. So all those operations are going well, we don't expect any issues.

"The crew did a fantastic job of staying on track and getting everything in and out of the MPLM that we needed. And the ground team responsible for the transfer has done a tremendous job pre-flight and also during the flight, maintaining a list of every single item that needs to move in and out of the MPLM and exactly where it goes on the space station and exactly where items go inside the MPLM. That is a really tough task and these guys have done a fantastic job."

Endeavour's original flight plan called for undocking on Thanksgiving day. But the flight was extended one day to permit additional troubleshooting to fix the UPA and the combined shuttle-station crews plan to enjoy off-duty time and a joint Thanksgiving dinner Thursday.

"The first half of the day is going to be some well-deserved off-duty time for the crew and we were able to manage the shuttle and the station crew to have that jointly, and that's going to be very important for them," Smith said. "They can enjoy some time together without being bugged by the flight directors, the flight controllers and the CAPCOMs asking them to do all kinds of things. So they'll have some time to themselves."

Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EST and mission elapsed time; includes revision L of the NASA television schedule):


EST........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

11/26/08
07:55 AM...11...12...00...Crew wakeup
08:30 AM...11...12...35...Flight director briefing replay
08:30 AM...11...12...35...Flight day 12 HD highlights (HD channel)
09:55 AM...11...14...00...Daily planning conference
10:30 AM...11...14...35...Departure preps
10:10 AM...11...14...15...Russian Progress systems training
11:15 AM...11...15...20...Middeck transfers
11:10 AM...11...15...15...Cargo module (MPLM) egress
11:25 AM...11...15...30...MPLM deactivation
11:45 AM...11...15...50...MPLM vestibule demate
01:15 PM...11...17...20...Tool stow
01:15 PM...11...17...20...MPLM vestibule depress
02:35 PM...11...18...40...Crew meals begin
03:30 PM...11...19...35...Mission status briefing on NASA TV
03:35 PM...11...19...40...Station arm (SSRMS) grapples MPLM
04:05 PM...11...20...10...Harmony module berthing mechanism demate
04:50 PM...11...20...55...MPLM demate and move to shuttle
06:10 PM...11...22...15...MPLM locked in payload bay
06:20 PM...11...22...25...SSRMS ungrapples MPLM
06:40 PM...11...22...45...Water recovery system sample collection
08:00 PM...12...00...05...Evening planning conference
10:25 PM...12...02...30...ISS crew sleep begins
10:55 PM...12...03...00...STS crew sleep begins
11:00 PM...12...03...05...Flight day 13 highlights

11/27/08
06:55 AM...12...11...00...Crew wakeup
07:30 AM...12...11...35...Flight director update
08:30 AM...12...12...35...Flight day 13 HD highlights (HD channel)

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
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: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY

VIDEO: ANIMATION OF LEONARDO MODULE'S DETACHMENT PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 12 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MINNEAPOLIS, PORTLAND, PHILLY INTERVIEWS WITH CREW PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NEW EXTERNAL TV CAMERA MOUNTED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: FINISHING THE STARBOARD SARJ CLEANING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE ON PORT SARJ PLAY
VIDEO: KIMBROUGH FLOATS OUT OF THE AIRLOCK PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEWS WITH CREW BY ABC, CBS AND NBC NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: LAST OF OLD BEARINGS REMOVED FROM SARJ PLAY
VIDEO: BOWEN INSTALLS ANOTHER BEARING ASSEMBLY PLAY
VIDEO: SARJ CLEANING TECHNIQUES TO REMOVE CONTAMINATION PLAY
VIDEO: PIPER USES GREASE GUNS ON THE SARJ PLAY
VIDEO: NEW TRUNDLE BEARING ASSEMBLY INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKING DUO GETS TO WORK PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 3 BEGINS PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 3 PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: JOINT CREW IN-FLIGHT NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: PROTON ROCKET ROLLS OUT TO THE PAD PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH OF THE ZARYA CONTROL MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH COMMENTS BY NASA AND RSA PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION COMMANDERS MARK ANNIVERSARY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON STATION'S ARM PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS PULL SECOND RAIL CART FREE PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST CART REMOVED FROM STATION RAILS PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 7 PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH CAMERA REPLAYS
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: AP, MINNEAPOLIS AND BOSTON INTERVIEWS WITH CREW PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: RIDE ALONG WITH ASTRONAUTS "RACK-CAM" PLAY
VIDEO: COMBUSTION SCIENCE HARDWARE MOVED INTO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: AIRLOCK CAMCORDER FOOTAGE AFTER SPACEWALK PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: EVA NO. 1 CONCLUDES PLAY
VIDEO: SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT REPAIRS BEGIN PLAY
VIDEO: TOOL BAG ACCIDENTALLY FLOATS AWAY PLAY
VIDEO: GREASE GUN SPILL MAKES MESS IN TOOL CARRIER PLAY
VIDEO: SPARE FLEX HOSE COUPLER DELIVERED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: EMPTY NITROGEN TANK MOVED FROM STATION TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: SHOW-AND-TELL OF SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT WORK PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF SPACEWALK SWAPOUT PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 5 PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW OPENS HATCH AND ENTERS LEONARDO PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTA AND BOSTON TV STATIONS INTERVIEW CREW PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: LEONARDO MODULE SUCCESSFULLY MOUNTED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF LEONARDO MODULE ATTACHMENT PLAY
VIDEO: SUMMARY OF CARGO BEING DELIVERED TO SPACE STATION PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE 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: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 3 PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 2 PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEFLIGHT NOW'S LAUNCH PAD CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-126 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: FINAL PRE-LAUNCH POLLS GIVE "GO" FOR LIFTOFF PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE'S CREW MODULE HATCH CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST DON PETTIT BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST SHANE KIMBROUGH BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT ERIC BOE BOARDS ENDEAVOUR PLAY
VIDEO: COMMANDER CHRIS FERGUSON BOARDS ENDEAVOUR PLAY
VIDEO: ASTROVAN TAKES CREW TO LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED RECAP OF ENDEAVOUR'S PRE-FLIGHT CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED RECAP OF PAYLOADS' PRE-FLIGHT CAMPAIGN PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39A SERVICE GANTRY RETRACTED FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: STATION ASTRONAUTS PREPARE FOR SHUTTLE ARRIVAL PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOADS READIED FOR TREK TO SPACE PLAY

VIDEO: UPDATE ON SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAMS PLAY
VIDEO: STS-126 MISSION OVERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER CHRIS FERGUSON PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH PILOT ERIC BOE PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS1 HEIDEMARIE PIPER PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS2 STEPHEN BOWEN PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS3 DON PETITT PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS4 SHANE KIMBROUGH PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS5 SANDY MAGNUS PLAY

VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH SPACE STATION'S EXPEDITION 17 CREW PLAY

VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR COMMANDER AND PILOT PRACTICE LANDINGS PLAY

VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER UPDATES SOYUZ INVESTIGATION PLAY
VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER DESCRIBES SARJ REPAIR PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER DISCUSSES RADIATOR DAMAGE PLAY
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 18 PRE-FLIGHT MISSION BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF ATLANTIS AND ENDEAVOUR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR AT SUNRISE ON LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF ENDEAVOUR AFTER ROLLOUT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ROLLS FROM VAB TO LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR LEAVING VAB PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S DEPARTURE FROM HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR GOING VERTICAL PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF BEING HOISTED OFF TRANSPORTER PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR MOVING TO VAB PLAY
MORE: STS-126 VIDEO COVERAGE
SUBSCRIBE NOW