Spaceflight Now





BY JUSTIN RAY

Follow space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to finish assembly of the International Space Station's Japanese segment. Reload this page for the latest updates.

Bookmark and Share
Sign up to our Twitter feed and get text message updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009
2210 GMT (6:10 p.m. EDT)
The work day is over for the astronauts and they've turned out the lights for an eight-hour sleep period. Wakeup time is 2:03 a.m. EDT to test the ship's reaction control system and aerosurfaces for entry and landing, stow away equipment for the homecoming, deploy two small satellites and hold a final round of live media interviews.
2025 GMT (4:25 p.m. EDT)
Maps depicting the path that space shuttle Endeavour would take into the Kennedy Space Center during two landing opportunities on Friday are posted below:



1630 GMT (12:30 p.m. EDT)
The Orbiter Boom Sensor System was berthed in the payload bay this morning, its job complete for the mission. Analysts on the ground will be examining all of the imagery gathered and should have the heat shield cleared of any concern by Thursday morning.

"Everything looked nominal from what we could see in the downlink (TV)," says shuttle flight director Tony Ceccacci.

1400 GMT (10:00 a.m. EDT)
The surveys are finished. After a little break, the crew will return the inspection boom to its cradle in the payload bay.
1250 GMT (8:50 a.m. EDT)
Running ahead of timeline, observations of the port wing are now underway aboard shuttle Endeavour. This is the third and final part of the inspections for today.
1228 GMT (8:28 a.m. EDT)
Inspections of the reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap of the shuttle are complete.
1150 GMT (7:50 a.m. EDT)
The right wing has been scanned using the laser and camera package of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. The crew is swinging the boom in position to inspect Endeavour's nose cap next.
1145 GMT (7:45 a.m. EDT)
Space station commander Gennady Padalka aborted the automated approach of an unmanned Russian Progress supply ship today after a problem of some sort left it in the wrong orientation, taking over manual control and remotely guiding the craft to a picture-perfect docking. The shuttle astronauts, meanwhile, are performing now-standard heat shield inspections to look for space debris damage.

Read our full story.

1130 GMT (7:30 a.m. EDT)
Aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, meanwhile, the astronauts are using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System on the end of the shuttle's robot arm for a series of heat shield inspections. The inspections are similar to the ones performed the day after launch. Today's survey results will be compared with the earlier data to ensure the orbiter's wing leading edge panels and nose cap are free of any space debris impacts that could have occurred during the mission.
1112 GMT (7:12 a.m. EDT)
DOCKING CONFIRMED. Just 18 hours after space shuttle Endeavour departed the International Space Station, an unmanned resupply ship has successfully arrived at the outpost.

Expedition 20 commander Gennady Padalka flew the remote-controlled docking after the automated system aboard the freighter developed some sort of problem.

The Russian-made Progress M-67 freighter is delivering two-and-a-half tons of supplies to the station. The "dry" cargo tucked aboard the Progress amounts to 2,718 pounds in the form of spare parts, life support gear and equipment hardware.

The refueling module carries 1,830 pounds of propellant for transfer into the Russian segment of the complex to feed the station's maneuvering thrusters. The vessel also has 463 pounds of water and 110 pounds of oxygen.

1112 GMT (7:12 a.m. EDT)
This is the 34th Russian-made Progress cargo ship launched to the International Space Station.
1111 GMT (7:11 a.m. EDT)
On final approach, all looking good, the crew reports.
1110 GMT (7:10 a.m. EDT)
The video camera on the Progress shows the craft is lined up with the docking target.
1108 GMT (7:08 a.m. EDT)
Padalka is remotely flying the 24-foot long ship into proper alignment with the aft-facing port on the Zvezda service module.
1106 GMT (7:06 a.m. EDT)
Television monitors displaying video from a camera on the nose of the Progress and a pair of joysticks will be used by Padalka to fly the cargo ship to the docking port.
1104 GMT (7:04 a.m. EDT)
Russian flight controllers have instructed station commander Gennady Padalka to take over manual control of the Progress M-67. The spacecraft has performed its automated flyaround of the station but did not get into the correct orientation behind the complex.
1100 GMT (7:00 a.m. EDT)
The Progress M-67 spacecraft was launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan last Friday at 1056 GMT (6:56 a.m. EDT). It reached a preliminary orbit nine minutes later, then deployed two power-generating solar arrays that span 35 feet and unfurled communications and navigation antennas. A series of precise engine firings have led the freighter to this point for its automated linkup.
1055 GMT (6:55 a.m. EDT)
The station is occupied by the Expedition 20 crew of commander Gennady Padalka, NASA astronauts Michael Barratt and Tim Kopra, European astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk.

Padalka is standing by to manually dock the Progress via remote control if the automated system experiences a problem.

1050 GMT (6:50 a.m. EDT)
The automated rendezvous sequence continues for the Progress M-67 cargo freighter. The craft has closed within a half-mile now and is beginning its flyaround maneuver to align with the aft docking port of the Zvezda service module.
1032 GMT (6:32 a.m. EDT)
The Russian resupply ship is less than five miles away from the station.
0942 GMT (5:42 a.m. EDT)
Endeavour's robot arm has grappled the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to lift the 50-foot-long inspection tool out of the payload bay.
0840 GMT (4:40 a.m. EDT)
The latest version of the NASA Television schedule (Rev. P) can be downloaded here.
0704 GMT (3:04 a.m. EDT)
The musical wakeup from Mission Control to begin Flight Day 15 was "Yellow" by Coldplay. Endeavour's astronauts are now awake for a day to perform heat shield inspections.

Meanwhile, a Russian resupply ship is headed toward the International Space Station for its automated docking at 7:16 a.m. EDT. The Expedition 20 astronauts are waking up now to begin their day to receive the freighter.

Read our earlier status center coverage.

STS-127 patch
The official embroidered patch for shuttle Endeavour's flight to finish building Japanese section of the space station.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Hubble crew
The official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle's last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase.

PATCH
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Expedition 20
The official embroidered patch for the International Space Station Expedition 20 crew is now available from our stores.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

STS-128 patch
The official embroidered patch for shuttle Discovery's flight to deliver equipment and research gear to the space station.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE