Table of Contents

Daily Reports

August 21, 2007 (Flight Day 14)

Landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Space Shuttle Endeavour glided in for a perfect landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Touchdown occurred at 12:32 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on runway 15 with STS-118 Commander Scott Kelly and Pilot Charles Hobaugh at the controls. The STS-118 crew also included Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Dave Williams, Canadian Space Agency, Barbara R. Morgan and Alvin Drew.

Endeavour returned home two weeks after it launched from the Kennedy Space Center.

Congratulations Dave! Congratulations STS-118!

 

Space Shuttle Endeavour rolls down the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Photo: NASA TV)

August 20, 2007 (Flight Day 13)

Canadian Downlink with Students - Landing preparation
Audio version

Canadian astronaut Dave Williams with NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Barbara Morgan took part in a 20-minute downlink with students from La Ronge in Saskatchewan at 11:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time. From the Northlands College of La Ronge, students had the unique opportunity to ask their questions to Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dave Williams and his colleagues Scott Kelly and Barbara Morgan aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour.

After the event, the crew spent the rest of the day configuring the shuttle for landing by performing routine checks of Endeavour's systems.

Endeavour's first landing opportunity is scheduled for Tuesday at 12:32 p.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. A second opportunity is available at the Florida spaceport at 2:06 p.m.

August 19, 2007 (Flight Day 12)

Undocking – Late inspection
Audio version

Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 7:56 a.m. EDT today, ending an almost nine-day stay at the orbital outpost for the STS-118 crew.

Undocking was moved up a day in preparation for landing on Tuesday. The earlier landing opportunity was selected in the event Hurricane Dean threatens the Houston area. It allows an opportunity for the shuttle to land before Mission Control, Houston, would be shut down in preparation for a storm.

Later, the crew conducted the post-docking heat shield inspection using the Canadian extension boom (OBSS) to make sure Endeavour is ready for landing. STS-118's first landing opportunity on Tuesday is at the Kennedy Space Center at 12:32 p.m. EDT.

 

The crew proceeded with a late inspection of the shuttle using the Canadian extension boom (OBSS) to ensure safety of the shuttle and crew. (Image: NASA)

August 18, 2007 (Flight Day 11)

Fourth mission spacewalk – CSA astronaut Dave Williams holds the Canadian record for the number of hours spent spacewalking
Audio version

Canadian Mission Specialist Dave Williams and Flight Engineer Clay Anderson worked outside the International Space Station. The spacewalk kicked off at 9:17 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time.

The orbital duo’s scheduled tasks for the shortened spacewalk included the installation of an External Wireless Instrumentation System antenna, installation of a stand for the shuttle’s robotic arm Canadian extension boom and retrieval of two containers of the Materials International Space Station Experiment.

Inside the station, astronauts and cosmonauts prepared for hatch closure between Space Shuttle Endeavour and the station at the end of the day.

Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the station on Sunday for a landing on Tuesday.

August 17, 2007 (Flight Day 10)

Media Crew Downlink
Audio version

After a busy week in space, the shuttle crew and the International Space Station crew took part in a live downlink at 1:34 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Canadian, US and Russian media were offered the opportunity to speak live with the astronauts in space.

During the press conference, crewmembers Barbara Morgan, Tracy Caldwell, Scott Kelly and Canadian astronaut Dave Williams answered several questions. Dave expressed his confidence in the mission managers' decision not to repair the damaged tile and that the crew safety was not at risk. Other questions addressed to Dave concerned climate change. He answered that the effects of climate change were visible in water pollution and the effects of forest fires. He was asked if he thought that Canada would one day participate to a return to the Moon and answered that it was his personal dream that nations of the world cooperate to future Moon missions. Dave marveled at seeing the Earth turning beneath him and expressed his pride of working with both the Shuttle and the Station Canadarms. He also said that the crew and himself enjoyed the Canasnacks developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for astronauts in space, as well as the caribou (reindeer) jerky. He added that he was not concerned about the return to Earth and that he was eager to see his family.

Today, the STS-118 and Expedition 15 crews continued cargo transfers and prepared for Saturday's spacewalk.

The Mission Management Team decided Thursday that Saturday's spacewalk will not include repair of Space Shuttle Endeavour's heat shield. After hours of reviewing data and imagery collected during the inspections by the STS-118 crew, the managers decided the damage did not pose a safety risk to the crew or Endeavour.

The spacewalk preparations include preparing equipment and reviewing procedures. Canadian Mission Specialist Dave Williams and space station Flight Engineer Clay Anderson will conduct the excursion, which is slated for Saturday.

August 16, 2007 (Flight Day 9)

Second NASA Educational and Dave Williams long distance phone call to Students on Ice
Audio version

Earlier in August, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) had sent five Canadian high school students, two educators and a CSA space scientist on an Arctic learning expedition with Students on Ice. On their voyage they studied the geological structures of Canada's north and how those structures compare with what scientists believe to be the geological evolution of Mars, the red planet.

As scheduled, Dave Williams called the Students on Ice boat this morning as they wrapped up their last day of the expedition, reaching Iqaluit, their final destination before they head back to Ottawa. Rex Lo, one of the Canadian Space Agency sponsored students participating in Students on Ice had the chance to speak with Dave for approximately five minutes. Dave and Rex spoke about global warming, the arctic, and Rex shared with Dave some of what he has learned over the course of his time on the Students on Ice expedition, in particular what he learned about how space fits into the arctic and the CSA projects underway which include the Canadian north.

A second Educational Downlink took place with Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan and colleague Alvin Drew in the late morning of Flight day 9.

Mission Specialists Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew participated in an education event this morning with students at the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in Alexandria, Va.

Barbara Morgan, an educator who became an astronaut, was first selected by NASA in 1985 as the backup to Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe.

Following the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986, Barbara Morgan continued to work with NASA on educational activities and returned to teaching elementary school in Idaho. She was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998.

The STS-118 and Expedition 15 crews continued cargo transfers between the shuttle and the station.

August 15, 2007 (Flight Day 8)

Third mission spacewalk
Audio version

Astronauts Clay Anderson and Rick Mastracchio stepped out the International Space Station at 10:37 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time for the third spacewalk of mission STS-118. They replaced parts of the station's communication system, installed a new signal processor and relocated a communication antenna. Astronaut Mastracchio also rode at the tip of the Canadarm2 again to help relocate an S-band antenna.

The two spacewalkers moved the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid cart located on the starboard station truss to allow for installation of a new transponder. This handrail cart allows both spacewalker and equipment to ride to different points along the main trusses.

August 14, 2007 (Flight Day 7)

External Stowage Platform 3 Installation and U.S. Educational Downlink
Audio version

This morning, Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell and Barbara Morgan used Space Shuttle Endeavour's Canadarm to lift the External Stowage Platform 3 out of the payload bay and to hand it off to the Canadarm2. STS-118 Pilot Charles Hobaugh and Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Clay Anderson used the Canadarm2 to attach the platform to the station's Port 3 truss segment. Once more, the Canadian arms proved to be indispensable for assembling the station.

At around 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dave Williams joined Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan and NASA astronauts Clayton Anderson and Alvin Drew to take part in a U.S. Educational Downlink.

Inside the shuttle/station complex, cargo transfers between the two spacecraft continued. NASA Astronauts Mastracchio and Anderson began preparing for the third mission spacewalk.

August 13, 2007 (Flight Day 6)

Second spacewalk for Dave Williams
Audio version

At 11:32 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time today, Williams stepped outside the space station for his second spacewalk. This was an important day for him since he had the privilege to ride the Canadarm2, controlled by Hobaugh, for most of the walk. Williams and Mastracchio replaced a faulty Control Moment Gyroscope, which the orbiting outpost uses for attitude control. "This is the most amazing ride I've ever had," Williams marvelled as he started his spacewalk.

Despite weighing nearly 600 kg (and about the size of a washing machine), Williams picked up the Control Moment Gyroscope and its mounting hardware from Endeavour's payload bay using only his arms and he was slowly flown back to the space station. In microgravity, the inertia that the Control Moment Gyroscope possesses is of great concern to astronauts, so Williams along with his payload in hand was moved very slowly, taking about 15 minutes to complete his flight over to the InternationaI Space Station.

Mission managers decided Sunday to extend the STS-118 mission by three days. The decision came after the successful operation of the new Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System. The Transfer System reroutes power from the space station to the shuttle during docked operations, allowing the orbiter to conserve materials needed to generate power and spend more time in space.

Endeavour is now scheduled to undock from the International Space Station on August 20. In addition to the extra time at the orbital outpost, managers added a fourth spacewalk that is scheduled to take place August 17.

Meanwhile on Earth, experts continued to analyze imagery collected Sunday during the STS-118 crew's focused inspection of five areas of concern on the Endeavour's heat shield.

August 12, 2007 (Flight Day 5)

Focused inspection – PMDIS performed by Canadian Dave Williams
Audio version

Today, the crew proceeded with a focused inspection of Space Shuttle Endeavour's heat shield using the Canadian extension boom. The crew took a look at five areas on Endeavour's underside that may have been damaged during Endeavour's climb to orbit on August 8. The data collected by the inspection were sent to the Mission Control Center in Houston for analysis by engineers and flight controllers.

On this day, Canadian astronaut Dave Williams performed the Canadian scientific experiment called Perceptual-Motor Deficits in Space (PMDIS). The experiment examines if while in microgravity, astronauts have a harder time reaching and pointing to objects on a computer monitor than when they are on Earth. This could be critical in emergency situations. Dave reported to ground control that all data had been recorded successfully. He also thanked the science investigators for the opportunity of having worked on this experiment on the space station.

Dave Williams and Rick Mastracchio also prepared for their second spacewalk Monday morning.

Audio recording of station-to-ground control communications between Dave Williams and mission control on the PMDIS experiment.

August 11, 2007 (Flight Day 4)

Canadian astronaut Dave Williams' first spacewalk
Audio version

At 12:28 p.m. EDT, Mission Specialists Dave Williams (CSA) and Rick Mastracchio (NASA) ventured outside the space station to take part in their first spacewalk.

The walk lasted about 6 ½ hours. Dave Williams and partner Rick Mastracchio guided station robot arm operator Charles Hobaugh, STS-118's pilot, as he moved the S5 to the attachment point. The spacewalkers then firmly attached the new starboard truss segment (S5) onto the existing (S4) backbone of the station using bolts and electrical connectors.

Williams and Mastracchio got spectacular views of the ISS and Earth below since they worked on the farthest-most sections of the space station.

Once installed, the astronauts took a stroll along the main ISS truss using handrails to guide them to the centre of ISS. From there they climbed to the highest point on the station and folded-up a solar panel heat radiator and stowed it for future relocation.

The new Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System--which enables the Shuttle to convert about 8 kW of electricity from the ISS Electrical Power System—and that was activated after Friday's docking, was shut down as a precaution during the spacewalk. It was brought back online after the conclusion of the excursion. The transfer system may allow Space Shuttle Endeavour and the STS-118 crew to stay at the station longer and extend the mission to 14 days.

August 10, 2007 (Flight Day 3)

Docking to the ISS – Opening of the Hatch – Handshake Ceremony – Robotic activities
Audio version

Endeavour docked with the ISS at 2:02 p.m. EDT. After successfully docking, the Shuttle Commander Scott Kelly and the Russian ISS Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin opened the hatches from their respective spacecraft. Following the Handshake Ceremony, astronaut Tracy Caldwell picked-up the S5 truss segment from the shuttle's cargo bay using the Carnadarm and passed it on to Pilot Charles Hobaugh at the controls of the Canadarm2. The S5 truss segment will remain parked in this position until the next day.

August 9, 2007 (Flight Day 2)

Rendezvous preparations and Heat Shield Inspection
Audio version

As Endeavour approaches the International Space Station, the crew spent its first day in space checking out equipment. The Canadarm was powered up and maneuvered to grapple the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and used to perform a survey of the starboard, nose and port sections of the shuttle's thermal protection system. Mission specialists Dave Williams (CSA) and Barbara Morgan (NASA) joined Astronaut Mastracchio for the latter part of the survey.

In preparation for Endeavour's rendezvous and docking with the space station, crew members installed a centerline camera to help Commander Scott Kelly pilot the orbiter during its approach to the station docking port. Crew members also checked out rendezvous tools and extended the Orbiter Docking System ring.

August 8, 2007 (Flight Day 1)

Launch is successful: Canadian Astronaut Dave Williams heads to the International Space Station
Audio version

Canadian Astronaut Dave Williams launched successfully aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour at 6:36 p.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center.

The crew of mission STS-118 will pursue the assembly of the International Space Station with the delivery and installation of the S5 truss segment, the External Stowage Platform 3 and the replacement of a failed Control Moment Gyroscope. Four mission spacewalks are planned, with Dave performing three. Once these are completed, Dave will have set a Canadian record for the number of spacewalks and hours spent outside the station.

Although this is his second space flight, mission STS-118 is the first visit to the station for Dave Williams and his first opportunity to perform not one, but three spacewalks. The renowned Canadarm and Canadarm2 will also be essential to this flight, as they will work hand-in-hand to transfer payloads and carry out the construction of the station elements during the mission.