STS-118


STS-118 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by the orbiter Endeavour. STS-118 lifted off on August 8, 2007, from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC on August 21, 2007.
This was the first flight of Endeavour since STS-113 in November 2002, which was also the last successful shuttle flight before STS-107 which culminated in the loss of Columbia when it disintegrated during reentry. STS-118 pilot Charles Hobaugh had been the entry team CAPCOM for STS-107. Columbia had originally been selected for this flight, for what would have been its 29th mission, and its first and likely only visit to the ISS, mainly due to its heavier weight.
The mission is also referred to as ISS-13A.1 by the ISS program. The mission added two more components to the ISS and brought supplies for its crew.
During and after the mission, the media focused heavily on a small puncture in the heat shield, created by a piece of insulation foam that came off the external tank during liftoff, though the foam impact that ultimately destroyed Columbia caused more damage and was in a critical area. KSC Launch Director Michael D. Leinbach mentioned in the post-flight news conference that upon initial inspection on the ground, "Endeavour appears to be the 'cleanest' post-flight orbiter since Return to Flight". On August 31, 2007, NASA reported that the damaged tiles had been removed in the Orbiter Processing Facility, and engineers had found no evidence of heat-related damage to the orbiter itself.

Crew

Crew notes

Astronaut Clayton Anderson was originally slated to be launched to the ISS on this mission, but was moved to STS-117. His replacement was Alvin Drew.
NASA press releases and media briefing documents stated that STS-118 was the first flight of a Mission Specialist Educator due to the presence of Barbara Morgan. The Educator Astronaut Project is the successor to NASA's Teacher in Space Project, which ended with the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. The official STS-118 mission patch included a flame of knowledge that represented the importance of education, and honored teachers and students everywhere. Morgan was the backup to Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who was killed aboard Challenger in 1986. The tip of the flames touched Morgan's name on the patch. However, NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin clarified at a post-mission press conference that Morgan was not considered a mission specialist educator, but rather a standard mission specialist, who had once been a teacher.
Prior to the Columbia disaster, the crew manifest for STS-118 was:

Mission payloads

The STS-118 mission delivered and assembled the starboard S5 truss segment of the International Space Station, as well as External Stowage Platform 3, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope. The mission was also the final flight to include the Spacehab Logistics Single Module.
The Spacehab Logistics Single Module, a pressurized aluminum habitat that is carried inside the payload bay, has a capacity of, and carried a variety of cargo and research projects, including supply materials for the ISS. It returned cargo, including the MISSE PEC 3 & 4, a Department of Defense payload that had been installed on the ISS. Launched in July 2006, the MISSE PEC-3 and 4 contained over 850 materials specimens that will be studied to determine the effects of long-term exposure to the environment of space.
LocationCargoMass
Bay 1–2Orbiter Docking System
EMU 3010 / EMU 3017		?
Bay 3Tunnel Adapter
Bay 5–7Spacehab-SM?
Bay 8PShuttle Power
Distribution Unit 		?
Bay 8–10Truss Segment S5
Bay 11–12ESP-3
SillOBSS?
SillRMS 201
Total:

Crew seat assignments

Mission background

The mission was originally scheduled to be flown by Columbia; STS-118 would have marked that orbiter's 29th flight and its first visit to the International Space Station. However, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster altered the planned flight schedules, and the mission was rescheduled for Endeavour. STS-118 served as Endeavour's return to flight after a planned orbiter re-fit and maintenance period that resulted in over 200 modifications to the orbiter.
One of the most important modifications that debuted during STS-118 is an upgraded power-distribution module, the Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System. SSPTS allows Endeavour to tap into the ISS power supply, converting up to eight kilowatts of electrical power from 120-volts direct-current ISS main voltage to the 28VDC system used by the orbiter. SSPTS was outfitted to the ISS Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 during STS-116. These upgrades will allow orbiters to remain docked at the station for an additional three to four mission days by saving cryogenic liquid hydrogen and oxygen needed to run the fuel cells which generate electricity aboard the orbiter; oxygen and hydrogen tank capacity is a major factor limiting the duration of orbiter free flights. Other systems debuting on this flight were a three-string GPS system, which replaces the three Tactical Air Navigation-units, used to guide the shuttle and calculate its position during reentry and landing and the new Advanced Health Management System which keeps an eye on the three main engines during liftoff and will shut them down before any catastrophic damage might develop. Endeavour also received several systems that the other orbiters had already been equipped with, such as a glass cockpit, improved wing leading-edge sensors and the OBSS.
STS-118 included mission specialist Barbara Morgan, the first mission specialist educator. Morgan trained as the backup to Christa McAuliffe, NASA's Teacher in Space candidate from 1985 to 1986. McAuliffe was killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986. While McAuliffe and Morgan were classified as spaceflight participants and not as mission specialists in 1986, after the Teacher in Space Project was canceled, Morgan assumed the duties of Teacher in Space Designee and continued to work with NASA's Education Division until her selection as NASA's first mission specialist educator in 1998. Morgan completed two years of training and evaluation and began official duties in 2000. An Educator Astronaut is a fully trained astronaut who performs all the same duties that a regular astronaut does. Morgan became the first mission specialist educator in space on STS-118, and will share what she learned from the experience with students during and after her flight.
The mission marked:
  • 150th crewed US space launch
  • 119th Space Shuttle flight
  • 22nd International Space Station assembly mission
  • 20th flight of Endeavour
  • 94th Post-Challenger mission
  • 6th Post-Columbia mission
  • First flight with SSPTS

    Mission timeline

Launch preparations

Endeavour was moved from the Orbiter Processing Facility, bay OPF-2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building on July 2, 2007. On July 10, 2007, Endeavour moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A. Moving at less than one mile per hour atop the crawler-transporter, the move began at 20:10 EDT, and was "hard down" at 03:02 EDT, July 11, 2007.
The crew completed the terminal countdown demonstration test on July 19, 2007, and the Flight Readiness Review meetings were held on July 25–26, 2007, after which NASA managers declared STS-118 a "GO" for launch. The launch was delayed one day to repair a valve in the shuttle's crew cabin pressurization system.
Commander Kelly and the crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on August 3, 2007, for final launch preparations. The countdown clock began at 20:00 EDT August 5, 2007, for the launch at 18:36 EDT on August 8, 2007.

Wednesday August 8 (Flight day 1, Launch)

Fueling of the external tank began at 08:11 EDT and finished around 11:00 EDT. The Ice Team began their inspection of the orbiter to ensure no ice was on the orbiter or the fuel tank, something unlikely due to the unusually warm conditions as launch time approached. Their inspection concluded about 40 minutes quicker than the usual two-hour duration. The crew departed for the Operations & Checkout building, for the launch pad at 14:46 EDT, and arrived at the pad at 15:02 EDT. Launch occurred at 18:36:42 EDT.
Countdown and launch notes:
  • The Ice Team members discovered a small crack in the foam surrounding the external fuel tank during their preflight examination. After a review by the Mission Management Team, it was concluded that there was no debris issue regarding the crack, and the tank was safe to fly.
  • A problem with the switches associated with the crew hatch required a second and third hatch closure attempt. Hatch closure was completed and verified at 17:23 EDT.
  • The high-definition video camera used to inspect the shuttle from Kennedy Space Center during launch failed prior to liftoff. The launch team decided that the cameras on the external tank and the orbiter would be sufficient for observations, and went on to launch without it.
  • The final forecast predicted 80% go for launch weather.
  • Launch Director Mike Leinbach conducted his T-9 poll, and declared Endeavour a "go" for launch at 18:26 EDT.
  • Liftoff occurred at 18:36:42 pm EDT.
  • Solid Rocket Boosters successfully separated at 18:39 pm EDT.
  • Main Engine Cutoff occurred at 18:45:30 pm EDT
  • External Tank separation occurred at 18:45:45 pm EDT
The primary TAL site was Zaragoza Airport in Spain.
Following the procedures for post-ascent, the crew opened the payload bay doors, activated the Spacehab, powered up the Remote Manipulator System, and performed a variety of other payload activation procedures, before entering their scheduled sleep shift at 04:36 UTC August 9, 2007.