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STS-127: The programs

In advance of shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the station, managers from both programs discuss the flight.

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STS-127: The mission

A detailed step-by-step preview of Endeavour's STS-125 mission to install an external exposure platform on the station's Kibo science facility.

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STS-127: The EVAs

The lead spacewalk officer provides indepth explanations of the EVAs on Endeavour's assembly mission to the station.

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STS-127: The crew

The seven astronauts launching on Endeavour meet the press in the traditional pre-flight news conference.

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Astronauts get the day off to rest after hectic pace
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 25, 2009


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The combined 13-member crew of the shuttle-station complex enjoyed a day off Saturday, taking a break after a grueling week and a half of work that included four spacewalks, internal and external equipment transfers and the precisely coordinated use of three robotic arms.


Credit: NASA
 
In an interview with CBS News, shuttle skipper Mark Polansky took a moment to defend the space station project, saying the outpost is just now beginning to reach its full potential.

"It does two things in my opinion," he said. "Number one, of course, it has the ability to do a lot of research. And I'll grant you that maybe we have not gotten to the point where we've done the amount of research that we'd hoped to. But we're getting there. We now have most of the station complete, we have a lot of world-class facilities, we have a crew of six for the first time permanently up here and I think we're entering that era where we will get that sort of payback from it.

"The other thing, which maybe is an intangible but I think is really important, is if you look at the crew right now, you have 13 crew members up here and you have every single major international partner of space station represented. That means it is truly an international space station.

"If you think about what it takes to get all of these countries, including Russia, the United States, Japan, all the European countries, Canada, everybody that's participated, to get them actually working together on a project that occurs 200 miles up and out of the atmosphere, I think that's a pretty amazing accomplishment and bodes well about international cooperation."

The astronauts enjoyed a full day off Saturday, taking time out to enjoy the view from 220 miles up and the experience of weightlessness.

"I think it is a complete privilege to be up here and to be able to see the Earth from above, to float in weightlessness," said Canadian astronaut Julie Payette. "Anybody who would come here would be absolutely awed at the incredible feat that it was to put it together and how fun it is to zoom from one module to the other."

In October, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte will spend nine days aboard the space station as a tourist. Asked if she had any advice, Payette said "at first we're not very good (at moving around), so I'm thinking someone who has circus experience might be a little better a little earlier. But even then, it takes some getting used to. It is different than on good old planet Earth."

On Sunday, the astronauts will use the station and shuttle robot arms to return a Japanese experiment carrier to Endeavour's cargo bay for return to Earth and hold a traditional joint news conference to discuss the progress of the mission.

Sunday evening, astronauts Christopher Cassidy and Thomas Marshburn will spend the night in the space station's Quest airlock module at a reduced pressure of 10.2 psi to purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams in preparation for a fifth and final spacewalk Monday.

The goals of the excursion include a wiring modification to put two stabilizing gyroscopes on separate circuits; a minor insulation fix on Canada's DEXTRE construction robot; installation of two television cameras on the Japanese Exposed Facility; and deployment of a spare parts stowage mechanism on the station's main power truss.

During his first spacewalk last Wednesday, Cassidy's suit had problems removing carbon dioxide, forcing flight controllers to bring the EVA to an early end as a safety precaution. A very slight buildup was noted during a second full-duration spacewalk Friday and Cassidy said today he does not anticipate any problems during his final outing Monday.

"That system didn't work quite as we expected on EVA-3, and yesterday during EVA-4 we got the full capacity out of the suit with a seven-hour EVA and accomplishing all of our tasks," he said. "What I learned in my two EVA experiences is just go slow early, slow and steady wins the race, and that's all we're going to do on EVA-5, just go nice and slow and work methodically and accomplish the tasks that we're able to accomplish."

If all goes well, Endeavour will undock from the station Tuesday, making way for the arrival of a Russian Progress supply ship Wednesday morning. Endeavour is scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Center Friday.

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


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

07/25
04:33 AM...09...10...30...Crew wakeup
08:03 AM...09...14...00...PAO event (all)
08:23 AM...09...14...20...Crew off duty
11:03 AM...09...17...00...ISS crew meal
12:03 PM...09...18...00...STS crew meal
01:03 PM...09...19...00...Crew off duty
05:03 PM...09...23...00...Crew choice downlink
05:18 PM...09...23...15...ISS daily planning conference
07:33 PM...10...01...30...ISS crew sleep begins
08:03 PM...10...02...00...STS crew sleep begins
09:00 PM...10...02...57...Daily highlights
11:00 PM...10...04...57...HD highights

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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: INDY, CBS NEWS AND MEMPHIS MEDIA INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: DELIVERY PALLET RETURNS TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: LAST OF THE OLD BATTERIES STOWED AWAY PLAY
VIDEO: SIXTH AND FINAL NEW BATTERY IS PLUGGED IN PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS RESUME WORK WITH BATTERY CHARLIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MORE INTERVIEWS WITH LAS VEGAS, HOUSTON AND FOX PLAY
VIDEO: NORTH CAROLINA, MAINE AND ORLANDO TV INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: COMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE PUT ON SCIENCE DECK PLAY
VIDEO: X-RAY ASTRONOMY PAYLOAD INSTALLED ON STATION PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 9 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: EARLY END TO SPACEWALK NO. 3 DECLARED PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND FRESH BATTERY PUT INTO STATION TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST OF THE NEW BATTERIES INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS REMOVE FIRST OLD BATTERY PLAY
VIDEO: CHRIS CASSIDY PREPS JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY 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: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ANSWERS PUBLIC'S QUESTIONS FROM SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: EXPOSED FACILITY RECEIVES EXPERIMENT CARRIER PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 7 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: REPLACEMENT COOLING PUMP PUT ON STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPARE COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA TRANSFERRED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER HOPS ABOARD STATION ARM PLAY
VIDEO: WOLF AND MARSHBURN BEGIN EVA NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CANADIANS IN SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PALLET HANDED OFF TO SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: CARGO CARRIER UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 5 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: UPDATE ON ENDEAVOUR'S HEAT SHIELD CHECKS PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE OUTDOOR SCIENCE PLATFORM ATTACHED PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION ARMS HANDOFF SCIENCE DECK PLAY
VIDEO: JAPAN'S EXPOSED FACILITY UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: THERMAL COVER JETTISONED FROM THE KIBO MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: HELMET-CAMERA VIEWS AS KOPRA CLIMBS TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: TIM KOPRA EMERGES FROM AIRLOCK FOR EVA NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 4 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' ONBOARD CAMCORDER FOOTAGE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE FLIES OUT IN FRONT OF STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF ENDEAVOUR APPROACHING PLAY
VIDEO: STATION CAMERA CATCHES ENDEAVOUR'S "TI BURN" PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-127 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BANANA CREEK VIP SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: STS-127 POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF FUEL TANK AFTER JETTISON PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS REACH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: WEATHER SCRUBS LAUNCH AGAIN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT PAD 39A ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: THUNDERSTORMS SCRUB SUNDAY'S ATTEMPT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED SUMMARY SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED SUMMARY PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: LIGHTNING STRIKES POSTPONE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S STATUS REPORT ON THE COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN PREVIEW AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO CAPE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: NO LEAKS FOUND DURING SPECIAL TEST PLAY
VIDEO: EXPLANATION OF THE HYDROGEN LEAK AND THE REPAIR PLAY

VIDEO: POST-SCRUB NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FIRING ROOM UPDATE WITH LAUNCH DIRECTOR PLAY
VIDEO: SCRUB NO. 2 DECLARED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK PLAY

VIDEO: SUNDAY'S UPDATE FROM MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM PLAY
VIDEO: LEAK POSTPONES SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SUN SETTING OVER PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: ANOTHER TIME-LAPSE OF GANTRY RETRACTION PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF LAUNCH PAD TOWER ROLLBACK PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH MARK POLANSKY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DOUG HURLEY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS CASSIDY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH JULIE PAYETTE PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH TOM MARSHBURN PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DAVE WOLF PLAY

VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE SCIENCE FACILITIES ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN BEGINS TICKING FOR SATURDAY'S LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: GET TO KNOW ENDEAVOUR'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE EVACUATION OF SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW BOARDS SHUTTLE FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP FOR DRESS REHEARSAL PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW INSPECTS CARGO IN THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TRAINING SESSIONS AT LAUNCH PAD AND BUNKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: INFORMAL CREW NEWS CONFERENCE AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW SETS LAUNCH DATE PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39A GANTRY ENCLOSES SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ROLLAROUND MOVES ENDEAVOUR TO PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR IS HAULED OFF LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SHUTTLE'S LAUNCH PAD SWITCH PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39B AND ITS LAST SPACE SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S SUNRISE ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MIDNIGHT ROLLOUT FROM ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CRANE ROTATES ENDEAVOUR VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORION AND ARES ROCKET PROGRESS REPORT PLAY
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