Orbiter: Endeavour
Mission: STS-130
Payload: Tranquility
Launch: Feb. 7, 2010
Time: 4:39 a.m. EST
Site: Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center
Landing: Feb. 19 @ approx. 11:15 p.m.
Site: KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility

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Mission Status Center

By Justin Ray

Welcome to Spaceflight Now's live coverage of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010
0959 GMT (4:59 a.m. EST)
The shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station early Wednesday after a picture-perfect rendezvous that included spectacular views of the shuttle against the blue-and-white backdrop of Earth.

Read our full story.
0946 GMT (4:46 a.m. EST)
The space station's robotic arm has reached into Endeavour's payload bay and plucked out Orbiter Boom Sensor System. The 50-foot-long then got handed over to the shuttle's arm.

This bit of robotics work clears the inspection boom out of the bay, clearing the path for the Tranquility module's unberthing later this week.

The shuttle arm is unable to reach the boom while docked to the station, so the station arm has to be do the boom relocation work. The shuttle arm will hold the boom through the rest of the docked mission.
0840 GMT (3:40 a.m. EST)
Here's some of the latest video now available in our archive for Spaceflight Now+Plus subscribers:

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: HATCHWAY OPENED BETWEEN TWO SPACECRAFT PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: STUNNING SHOT OF SHUTTLE AGAINST HORIZON PLAY
VIDEO: STATION'S VIEW OF SHUTTLE ENGINE FIRING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 3 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY AFTERNOON'S MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
MORE: STS-130 VIDEO COVERAGE
MORE: HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO COVERAGE
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0743 GMT (2:43 a.m. EST)
The six shuttle astronauts have been welcomed aboard the outpost by the five-person Expedition 22 resident crew.

Expedition 22 includes commander Jeff Williams, fellow NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, Russian cosmonauts Maxim Suraev and Oleg Kotov and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
0716 GMT (2:16 a.m. EST)
HATCHES OPEN. The hatchway between Endeavour and the space station was opened at 2:16 a.m. EST.
0641 GMT (1:41 a.m. EST)
Endeavour has maneuvered the station into the proper orientation with the shuttle flying on the aft end of the complex. This keeps the shuttle's heat shield out of the direction of travel to guard against space debris hits.
0554 GMT (12:54 a.m. EST)
The docking ring has been retracted and the hooks and latches have driven shut to firmly connect the shuttle to the space station. A series of leak checks between the docking ports will take the better part of the next two hours.
0550 GMT (12:50 a.m. EST)
Ring retraction is underway now.
0540 GMT (12:40 a.m. EST)
The shuttle/station complex remain in free drift while waiting for the docking ring to come into alignment for retraction.
0520 GMT (12:20 a.m. EST)
The crew is going to wait a bit longer to let the residual motions to damp out before continuing with the docking ring retraction.
0516 GMT (12:16 a.m. EST)
Endeavour's docking mechanism is pulling the two craft together.
0507 GMT (12:07 a.m. EST)
Docking occurred precisely ontime at 12:06 a.m. EST as the spacecraft flew in orbital darkness some 215 miles above the Atlantic west of Portugal.
0506 GMT (12:06 a.m. EST)
CONTACT AND CAPTURE! Space shuttle Endeavour has arrived at the International Space Station to build a new utility room and bay window on the outpost.

The relative motions of the shuttle and station will be allowed to damp out over the next few minutes by the spring-loaded docking system. Later, the hooks and latches will be closed to firmly join the two craft and Endeavour's Orbiter Docking System docking ring will be retracted to form a tight seal.

The opening of hatches between the station and shuttle is expected in about two hours. That will be followed by a welcoming ceremony and safety briefing.
0505 GMT (12:05 a.m. EST)
Endeavour's thrusters are programmed to fire in a post-contact maneuver to force the two docking ports together. That procedure is being armed.
0504 GMT (12:04 a.m. EST)
About 14 feet separate the shuttle from the station.
0503 GMT (12:03 a.m. EST)
Endeavour is closing at about 0.1 feet per second. Current distance now 17 feet.
0500 GMT (12:00 a.m. EST)
The final approach covering the last 30 feet is beginning.
0458 GMT (11:58 p.m. EST Tues.)
The alignment looks good between docking ports on Endeavour and the space station.
0456 GMT (11:56 p.m. EST Tues.)
Range now 40 feet.
0452 GMT (11:52 p.m. EST Tues.)
About 83 feet separate the shuttle and station, closing at 0.11 fps.
0447 GMT (11:47 p.m. EST Tues.)
Now about 104 feet from docking with the shuttle closing at about 0.14 feet per second.
0445 GMT (11:45 p.m. EST Tues.)
The shuttle is being flown manually by commander George Zamka. This is his second visit to the International Space Station, having served as the pilot on the STS-120 assembly mission that delivered the Harmony connecting node.
0443 GMT (11:43 p.m. EST Tues.)
Range now 160 feet, closing at about 0.2 feet per second.
0441 GMT (11:41 p.m. EST Tues.)
The shuttle is 181 feet in front of the station complex now.
0438 GMT (11:38 p.m. EST Tues.)
The trajectory sensor in the payload bay used to determine the distance between Endeavour and the station is not working properly. The shuttle crew will rely on their handheld laser ranging device instead.
0434 GMT (11:34 p.m. EST Tues.)
The two spacecraft are flying in orbital darkness. Docking is scheduled to occur just before the next sunrise.
0430 GMT (11:30 p.m. EST Tues.)
Endeavour is less than 300 feet from the station and closing at about 0.2 feet per second.
0427 GMT (11:27 p.m. EST Tues.)
The astronauts have been given a "go" for docking from Mission Control.
0426 GMT (11:26 p.m. EST Tues.)
The shuttle has reached a point directly in front of the station along the imaginary line called the velocity vector, or +V bar.
0420 GMT (11:20 p.m. EST Tues.)
Endeavour is marking the arc from the point beneath the station to a point in front of the complex to align with the docking port on the Harmony module. Docking is about 45 minutes away.
0409 GMT (11:09 p.m. EST Tues.)
The pitch maneuver has been completed. Endeavour is back in the orientation where it started, with the payload bay looking up at the station.
0406 GMT (11:06 p.m. EST Tues.)
The main engine nozzles of Endeavour are facing the station now as the shuttle points its tail upward.
0405 GMT (11:05 p.m. EST Tues.)
This 360-degree, nose-first pirouette by Endeavour gives the station crew about 100 seconds of quality photography time to snap detailed pictures of the orbiter's black tiles in the search for any launch impact damage.
0404 GMT (11:04 p.m. EST Tues.)
The formal photo-taking period has started for the Expedition crew positioned at windows in the Zvezda service module, now that the shuttle has rotated its underside in view of the station complex.
0402 GMT (11:02 p.m. EST Tues.)
Endeavour is nose-up facing the station.
0401 GMT (11:01 p.m. EST Tues.)
The duo is formation-flying about 620 feet apart over the western Pacific.
0400 GMT (11:00 p.m. EST Tues.)
The rendezvous pitch maneuver -- the 360-degree flip -- is beginning. The shuttle is the under the control of commander George Zamka, who is flying the ship from the aft flight deck.

As the shuttle's underside rotates into view, the station's crew will photograph Endeavour's belly with handheld digital cameras equipped with 400- and 800-millimeter lenses as part of post-launch inspections of the heat shield.

The 800mm images should provide one-inch resolution for examination of landing gear door and external tank umbilical door seals. The 400mm will yield three-inch resolution.

After completing the RPM maneuver, Endeavour will fly directly ahead of the space station with the shuttle's nose facing deep space and its cargo bay pointed at the lab complex. Then Zamka will guide the spacecraft to a docking with a pressurized mating adapter attached to the Harmony connecting module.
0359 GMT (10:59 p.m. EST Tues.)
All of Endeavour's upward-firing thrusters are inhibited to protect the space station from any pluming.
0357 GMT (10:57 p.m. EST Tues.)
The spacecraft are flying 218 miles over cloud-covered China at this moment.
0354 GMT (10:54 p.m. EST Tues.)
Station commander Jeff Williams and cosmonaut Oleg Kotov are getting ready for their job to photograph Endeavour's heat shield during the backflip.
0351 GMT (10:51 p.m. EST Tues.)
Endeavour is less than 1,000 feet beneath the station now.
0347 GMT (10:47 p.m. EST Tues.)
Mission Control has given the shuttle crew a "go" for the backflip maneuver. The 360-degree flip should start in about 20 minutes.
0344 GMT (10:44 p.m. EST Tues.)
One final mid-course correction burn just occurred as Endeavour flies toward the station from behind and below.
0341 GMT (10:41 p.m. EST Tues.)
Endeavour is some 2,500 feet away and closing the gap toward the station at less than six feet per second now. That closure rate continues to decrease. Docking remains scheduled for 12:06 a.m. EST.
0334 GMT (10:34 p.m. EST Tues.)
The third tiny course correction has been completed. All continues to go well in today's rendezvous.
0325 GMT (10:25 p.m. EST Tues.)
Endeavour is inside 10,000 feet now.
0317 GMT (10:17 p.m. EST Tues.)
The shuttle crew has performed another of the available mid-course correction burns to tweak the flight path toward the International Space Station. Endeavour is 15,900 feet away.
0306 GMT (10:06 p.m. EST Tues.)
Two hours from docking. The distance between the shuttle and the space station is 27,000 feet.
0248 GMT (9:48 p.m. EST Tues.)
The shuttle just completed one of the available mid-course correction burns during this approach to the station. This 1-second burn resulted in a 0.25-foot per second change in velocity.
0244 GMT (9:44 p.m. EST Tues.)
The shuttle is 43,600 feet from the station, closing at 5 mph.
0228 GMT (9:28 p.m. EST Tues.)
With about 9 miles separating Endeavour from the International Space Station, the shuttle has performed the Terminal Initiation burn using the left-hand Orbital Maneuvering System engine. The 9-second firing changed the shuttle's velocity by 7 feet per second.

The TI burn puts the shuttle on a trajectory to directly intercept the orbiting station over the next orbit and a half. The burn is the latest in a series of maneuvers performed by Endeavour during its two days of chasing the station since launch Monday morning.

Docking is anticipated at 12:06 a.m. EST.
0158 GMT (8:58 p.m. EST Tues.)
Mission Control has radioed approval to the shuttle's crew for the Terminal Initiation burn that's scheduled to occur at 9:28 p.m. EST.
0142 GMT (8:42 p.m. EST Tues.)
Endeavour is about 24 miles away from the International Space Station.
0131 GMT (8:31 p.m. EST Tues.)
The crew just performed a pulsing of the reaction control jets to refine the shuttle's trajectory. Endeavour remains on track for docking around 12:06 a.m. EST tonight.
0057 GMT (7:57 p.m. EST Tues.)
And an orbit raising burn by Endeavour's twin maneuvering engines has been completed successfully. This 14-second firing changed the shuttle's velocity by 22.6 feet per second. It occurred when Endeavour was 38 miles away from the station.
0045 GMT (7:45 p.m. EST Tues.)
The shuttle Endeavour closed in on the International Space Station Tuesday, bringing a new habitation module and a multi-window observation deck that will give crew members a bird's eye view of Earth and approaching cargo ships.

Read our full story.
0005 GMT (7:05 p.m. EST Tues.)
The crew has gotten into the official rendezvous timeline. The data processing systems were configured, the inertial measurement units were aligned and the Group B equipment was powered up in support of today's activities.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010
2345 GMT (6:45 p.m. EST)
The Planning Shift of flight controllers in Houston have handed off to the Orbit 1 Team headed by lead STS-130 shuttle flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho and CAPCOM Rick Sturckow. This team will be on duty for the first half of the crew's workday and the docking.
2327 GMT (6:27 p.m. EST)
The crew is marching through its early checklist of activities for today. Commander George Zamka is preparing to align the orbiter's Inertial Measurement Units in the guidance system. And a waste water dump is underway.

For the latest video from Endeavour's mission, check out our extensive archive for STS-130 here.

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2215 GMT (5:15 p.m. EST)
Endeavour's have been awakened to begin Flight Day 3 -- or docking day.

Rendezvous operations will begin in about two hours. The Terminal Initiation burn is scheduled for 9:28 p.m. and the 360-degree backflip maneuver in expected to start at 11:05 p.m. EST. Endeavour should link up with the space station around 12:06 a.m. EST.

Read our earlier status center coverage.


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