Table of Contents

Daily Reports

July 31th, 2009 (Flight Day 17)

Successful Landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Space shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven astronauts touched down at 10:48 a.m. EDT at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, capping the 16-day STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle began its descent from orbit with a deorbit engine firing at 9:41 a.m., followed by a smooth re-entry that brought the winged spacecraft across Central America, Cuba and the state of Florida on its way to the spaceport.

Endeavour launched July 15 at 6:03 p.m. EDT from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A. Highlighted by five spacewalks and intricate robotics work, the mission completed construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts attached a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Julie Payette operated three arms during the mission-the Station's Canadarm2, the Shuttle's Canadarm and the Japanese arm.

STS-127 was the 127th space shuttle mission, the 23rd flight for Endeavour and the 29th shuttle visit to the station. This was Payette's second spaceflight and her second visit to the International Space Station. Ten years ago, she was the first Canadian to step inside the Station. At the time, it was in its earliest stages of assembly. Now, the Station is almost complete and has a permanent crew of six astronauts living aboard. This was the 15th spaceflight by a Canadian astronaut and the 7th time a Canadian stepped inside the International Space Station. With NASA's Shuttle retirement set for 2010, Julie Payette will have been the last Canadian to travel to space aboard a Shuttle.

WMV Video

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd17.html

July 30th, 2009 (Flight Day 16)

Crew Prepares for Landing

Twin satellite deployments and a check of the systems that will control Endeavour's return home to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, were on tap today.

The shuttle crew checked out two systems for tomorrow's landing. The astronauts completed a test of the Reaction Control System steering thrusters that will help control Endeavour's attitude and speed after the deorbit burn. During that test, one of the jets failed. This will not be an issue for landing. The crew also tested the shuttle aerosurfaces and flight control system that will be used once the shuttle enters the atmosphere.

Once those checks were complete, the crew deployed two pairs of small satellites. The first, called DRAGONSat, will look at independent rendezvous of spacecraft in orbit using Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) data. The second, called ANDE-2, will measure the density and composition of the rarified atmosphere 200 miles above the Earth's surface.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd16.html

July 29th, 2009 (Flight Day 15)

Endeavour Crew Prepares for Landing on Friday

Space shuttle Endeavour undocked Tuesday from the International Space Station at 1:26 p.m. EDT. After completing a fly-around of the space station, Endeavour performed a maneuver to separate from the station.

Shuttle astronauts performed the late inspection of Endeavour’s heat shield this morning, finishing about an hour and a half earlier than planned. Endeavour’s thermal protection system was cleared for landing earlier in the flight. This late inspection ensures that there has been no impact damage from micrometeoroids or space junk during its docked operations or fly-around of the station. Everything looked nominal during the inspection although the final results will be knowned sometime tomorrow after all the data are reviewed.

The Russian Progress 34 resupply vehicule docked to the ISS at 7:12 a.m. EDT and hard mated at 7:21 a.m. Gennady Padalka assumed manual control and completed the docking operations after the Progress failed to align correctly.

During the day, the crew also stowed material and equipment, and performed a waste and supply water dump in preparation for Friday's landing.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd15.html

July 28th, 2009 (Flight Day 14)

Space Shuttle Endeavour leaves the International Space Station

The crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station parted company today, with all of the docked mission's objectives complete. Astronaut Julie Payette bid farewell to her colleague Robert Thirsk who will remain on the station for four additional months.

The station was reoriented for undocking at 12:38 p.m., and docking latches opened at 1:26 p.m. allowing Endeavour to drift free. Pilot Doug Hurley guided Endeavour on a fly-around of the station at a distance of 400 feet, with final separation from the orbiting outpost at 2:41 p.m. The fly-around's objective is to take pictures and film every angle of the space station for inspection purposes.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata will be returning home on Endeavour after four months as a member of the Expedition 18, 19 and 20 crews. He will do so after providing a thorough handover to the station's new NASA flight engineer, Tim Kopra, who arrived aboard Endeavour.

WMV Video

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd14.html

July 27th, 2009 (Flight Day 13)

A Final Spacewalk for STS-127 mission

The final full day of activities for the joint crew of Endeavour and the International Space Station focused on the fifth and final spacewalk of the mission. Spacewalkers Christopher Cassidy and Tom Marshburn spent the night camped out in the Quest airlock. The primary objective of the spacewalk was to install two cameras on Japan's Kibo laboratory that will provide views to help with rendezvous and berthing of the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The HTV is scheduled to make its first deliveries to the station in September.

The four hour and 54 minutes spacewalk also included an electrical cable swap and adjustment of insulation blankets on Canada's two-armed robot Dextre. Based on the amount of time needed to clean up after the spacewalk, Mission Control decided to defer the deployment of a Payload Attachment System on the Starboard 3 truss. Instead, the spacewalkers worked on a few "get ahead tasks."

Inside the complex, Commander Mark Polansky and Mission Specialist Dave Wolf supported the spacewalkers, and Pilot Doug Hurley worked on cargo transfers.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd13.html

July 26th, 2009 (Flight Day 12)

Astronauts Busy with Robotics and Spacewalk Preparations

The crew's Sunday wake-up music was composer George Frederic Handel's "Dixit Dominus." The excerpt was uplinked for Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. After a day of rest, the 13 astronauts on the International Space Station shifted back into high gear for robotic operations and spacewalk preparations.

The space shuttle robotic arm, Canadarm, grabbed the Japanese Exposed Section cargo carrier from the space station robotic arm, Canadarm2. Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky and Mission Specialist Julie Payette then used the shuttle arm to place the cargo carrier back into the shuttle payload bay.

Spacewalkers Christopher Cassidy and Tom Marshburn, meanwhile, prepared their spacesuits and tools, and checked procedures for Monday's fifth and final STS-127 spacewalk.

Earlier Saturday, the International Space Station's Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) suffered a shutdown of its remote power controller, which performs like a circuit breaker. Overnight, flight controllers continued to manually operate the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA). They're keeping the atmosphere at normal levels, but are refining the remote-control procedures.

Later in the day all 13 crew members answered questions from reporters gathered at various NASA centers for a Joint News Conference. Canadian astronaut Julie Payette and the STS-127 and Expedition 20 crews also had ten minutes to talk live from the International Space Station to reporters who were invited at the Canadian Space Agency in Saint-Hubert, Quebec.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd12.html

July 25th, 2009 (Flight Day 11)

Astronauts Enjoy Day Off

The combined crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station enjoyed a day off today to rest up after a challenging first half of the assembly mission.

Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy and Tom Marshburn finished replacing batteries on the International Space Station's oldest solar arrays during a seven-hour, 12-minute spacewalk yesterday - the fourth of five planned during space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission.

The 13-member crew downlinked a Crew Choice presentation, called "The Partnership of the International Space Station." Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy, Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn and Dave Wolf also answered reporters' questions in an interview this morning.

The Canadian astronaut was asked if she was amazed to see how instrumental the Canada arm has been. "Canada's been a partner with NASA from the early 60's and here on the space station we have two Canadians, Bob Thirsk as a station crew member and me with shuttle crew. We have lot of people following our endeavour in space and we're proud of the technology."

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd11.html

July 24th, 2009 (Flight Day 10)

Battery Replacements During Fourth Spacewalk

STS-127 Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy and Tom Marshburn finished swapping out batteries for the International Space Station's oldest set of solar arrays. Their outing was devoted entirely to finishing the work started on the third spacewalk of the mission - removing old batteries from the Port 6 truss structure and transferring new batteries from the Integrated Cargo Carrier on the end of the station's robotic arm, the Canadarm2.

Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Julie Payette positioned Canadarm2 near the truss for the spacewalk and, once all of the battery swaps were complete, maneuvered the carrier back into Endeavour's cargo bay. That maneuver required them to hand off the carrier to the shuttle's arm, the Canadarm, for re-berthing by Doug Hurley and Commander Mark Polansky.

The Russian Progress 34 cargo craft launched at 6:56 a.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, loaded with 2.5 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the International Space Station crew. Progress is scheduled to dock to the Zvezda service module on Wednesday, July 29, a day after Endeavour undocks from the station.

Mission Specialist Julie Payette and her crewmates Commander Mark Polansky and Dave Wolf took time on Wednesday to answer questions from TV reporters. The Canadian astronaut was asked what she was thinking about when looking at Earth. "You look at the Earth and think like this shuttle is your spaceship, that the Earth below is our human spaceship, so we should take care of that ship."

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd10.html

July 23th, 2009 (Flight Day 9)

Kibo Robotic Arm Performs its First Job

With Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata at the controls, the Kibo robotic arm performed its first operational chore this morning, lifting a long-duration experiment from a cargo carrier and placing it on the recently-installed Kibo Japanese Exposed Facility. Koichi Wakata and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra began the experiment transfers, moving the equipment from the Japanese payload carrier to the Japanese Exposed Facility outside Kibo. They had help along the way from STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky and Canadian Mission Specialist Julie Payette.

While the crew slept, Mission Control updated Friday's spacewalk plan (flight day 10). Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will swap all four of the remaining Port 6 batteries on the fourth of five spacewalks. In addition, they'll install a camera on the Kibo porch that was deferred from the first spacewalk. Christopher Cassidy and Dave Wolf completed two of the battery swaps on the third spacewalk, but had to end the excursion early because of rising carbon dioxide levels in Christopher Cassidy's suit.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd9.html

July 22th, 2009 (Flight Day 8)

A Third Spacewalk for Mission STS-127

The highlight of today's activities was the third spacewalk. Mission Specialists Dave Wolf and Christopher Cassidy replaced two of the six original batteries on the station's Port 6 truss, with help from robotic arm operators inside the space station. The remaining batteries will be replaced on a future spacewalk.

Operations began at 10:32 a.m. EDT and wrapped up at 4:31 p.m. EDT. The spacewalk ended earlier than planned because of abnormal carbon dioxide levels in Cassidy's spacesuit.

Despite this challenge, the pair still managed to remove multilayer insulation from the Kibo module and to ready the Japanese Exposed Section payloads for their transfer to the Exposed Facility on Thursday.

But before the astronauts stepped outside, Pilot Doug Hurley and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette used the station's Canadarm2 to maneuver the Integrated Cargo Carrier containing the new batteries into close proximity to the Port 6 truss.

Meanwhile, Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and the rest of his crew continued maintaining station systems and performing experiments. Canadian Flight Engineer Bob Thirsk was scheduled to work with the Bodies in Space Experiment, which looks at how the human body perceives movements in microgravity.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd8.html

July 21th, 2009 (Flight Day 7)

Robotic Activities Dominated Crew's Timeline

The main objective today was the transfer of the Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section from Endeavour's cargo bay to the station's new "front porch." Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky and Mission Specialist Julie Payette used the shuttle's robotic arm, Canadarm, to remove the experiment carrier from Endeavour's payload bay and handed it off to the station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, operated by Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata. They positioned the structure and its experiments near the Japanese Exposed Facility, where they are ready for transfer to the station on flight day 9.

Robotic operations and spacesuit preparations paved the way for the third spacewalk of the mission planned on Wednesday. Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialist Julie Payette and lead spacewalker Dave Wolf answered questions posed by visitors on YouTube and Twitter before enjoying some off duty time.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd7.html

July 20th, 2009 (Flight Day 6)

The Second Spacewalk on Historic Anniversary

The 13 astronauts were awakened at 6:33 a.m. EDT to the theme from the 1960s television series "Thunderbirds," by composer Barry Gray, for Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette.

This morning, Expedition 20 commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Frank De Winne replaced components of the Waste Hygiene Compartment toilet in the Destiny Laboratory. The system's dose pump failed after running for about 15 minutes Sunday.

At 6:20 p.m., spacewalkers and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf and Tom Marshburn completed their six hour and 53 minutes excursion planned to relocate spare hardware. The pair had to retrieve three hardware spares from the Integrated Cargo Carrier and, to place them in a long-term storage location on the outside of the station's Port 3 truss. The spacewalkers were assisted by Julie Payette and Doug Hurley, who helped move Dave Wolf from the cargo carrier to an external stowage platform on the space station robotic arm, Canadarm2. They did not have enough time to install the television camera to the Japanese Exposed Facility.

Today's spacewalk took place on the 40th anniversary of the first moon walk by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd6.html

July 19th, 2009 (Flight Day 5)

Canadian astronauts aboard the station speak to Science and Technology Minister

Canadian astronauts Bob Thirsk and Julie Payette took part in a 20-minute downlink with Science and Technology Minister Gary Goodyear and media representatives. From the Canadian Space Agency head office in St.Hubert (Quebec), they had the unique opportunity to ask their questions to the astronauts.

Today, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station took a break from spacewalking, but continued their robotics work to prepare for the following day's excursion. The 13-member crew removed the Integrated Cargo Carrier from Endeavour's payload bay and placed it at the base of the station's mobile transporter.

Mission specialists Julie Payette and Tim Kopra guided the Canadarm2 and installed the carrier on the mobile base system. This placement will allow spacewalkers to transfer the spare parts to an external stowage platform on the station. The crew had additional time to complete transfers of supplies and equipment from the shuttle to the station and reviewed plans for Monday's (July 20) second spacewalk of the mission.

Unfortunately, International Space Station flight controllers and crew members were troubleshooting a problem with the Waste and Hygiene Compartment, the toilet in the U.S. Destiny module. Temporarily, the six station crew members will use the facilities in the Russian Zvezda module and the seven astronauts from space shuttle Endeavour will use the shuttle facilities.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd5.html

July 18th, 2009 (Flight Day 4)

First STS-127 Spacewalk

After a series of robotic arm hand offs, the Japanese Exposed Facility (JEF) was attached to the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory at 7:29 p.m. EDT. The Exposed Facility is the final component of Kibo, Japan's major contribution to the station, and will serve as a type of porch for experiments that require direct exposure to space.

The process involved three robotic arm systems. Canadarm and Canadarm2 moved the JEF from Endeavour's payload bay to the Kibo laboratory and Kibo's robotic arm was used to view the installation.

Astronauts Dave Wolf and Tim Kopra wrapped up a five-hour, 32-minute spacewalk, the first of five for the STS-127 mission, at 5:51 p.m. The spacewalkers prepared the berthing mechanisms on the Kibo laboratory and the Japanese Exposed Facility (JEF) for the JEF installation on Kibo.

Mission Specialist Julie Payette commanded Canadarm2 to gingerly pluck the Japanese porch out of the Shuttle's cargo bay, handing it off to the shuttle's arm. She then instructed Canadarm2 to walk to another location on the laboratory, so that it was able to position itself to take back the Exposed Facility from Canadarm before installing it onto the Kibo module.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd4.html

July 17th, 2009 (Flight Day 3)

Space Shuttle Endeavour Docked to the International Space Station

Today was docking day in space as Endeavour closed the gap with the International Space Station. The two craft met at 1:47 p.m. Prior to the docking, Endeavour performed the standard Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, a back flip that allows station astronauts to take high resolution photos of the shuttle heat shield for analysis by Mission Control in Houston.

The astronauts aboard Endeavour began rendezvous preparations this morning and performed a terminal initiation engine burn to begin the shuttle's final approach. About an hour after docking, the station hosts greeted their shuttle guests after opening hatches between the two spacecraft to begin 11 days of docked operations. The International Space Station population grew to a record 13 today, after the space shuttle Endeavour completed its orbital chase and docks this afternoon.

Meanwhile, on the station, Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Mike Barratt were ready to document the condition of Endeavour's heat protection tiles with photos, as mission STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky guided the shuttle through a slow back flip at a distance of 600 feet. Those digital images were downlinked to Mission Control and evaluated along with data from Thursday's (July 16th) 3-D scans of the shuttle's reinforced carbon thermal protection materials.

Once docked, Koichi Wakata (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Roman Romanenko (Russia), Bob Thirsk (Canadian Space Agency), and Frank De Winne (European Space Agency) joined their Expedition 20 colleagues in opening hatches at 3:48 p.m.

After a brief greeting and thorough safety briefing for the visiting crew, Tim Kopra's specially fitted seat liner was transferred to one of the two Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station and he became the newest Expedition 20 crew member. Koichi Wakata will be returning home aboard Endeavour after more than four months aboard the station.

Thursday's (July 16th) five-hour inspection, that took place to ensure Endeavour's wing leading edge panels and nosecap were in good shape, went well and imagery experts will continue to assess the overall health of the shuttle's Thermal Protection System. The early review indicates only a few minor dings in some tiles are present in video due to some unexpected losses of small foam pieces from the External Tank.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd3.html

July 16th, 2009 (Flight Day 2)

Shuttle Crew Inspects Heat Shield and Prepares for Station Docking

Seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour awakened at 7:03 a.m. to begin a day of heat shield inspections and preparations for Friday's (July 17th, 2009) rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.

Commander Mark Polansky and Pilot Doug Hurley will start their day with an Orbital Maneuvering System engine firing to refine Endeavour's path toward the station. A second burn is planned at the end of the crew's day. In addition, the crew will set up a camera in the shuttle's docking tunnel, extend the Orbiter Docking System ring and check out the hand-held laser range-finder and other equipment that will be used to provide precise distance and approach information for the upcoming docking.

Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Julie Payette of the Canadian Space Agency focused on inspections of Endeavour's heat shield using the Canadarm, the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System.

Spacewalkers Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra also began checking out the space suits they will wear and the tools they will use on the mission's five spacewalks.

Aboard the station, Expedition 20 crew including Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk spent the day packing and preparing for the arrival of visitors.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd2.html

July 15th, 2009 (Flight Day 1)

Successful launch: Canadian astronaut Julie Payette on her way to the International Space Station!

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette launched successfully aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour at 6:03 p.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.

The crew of mission STS-127 is now beginning a 16-day mission during which they will install a platform to the outside of the space station's Japanese Laboratory Kibo. Science experiments will take place on this platform, allowing them to remain exposed to the harsh environment of space. This mission will include five spacewalks.

During liftoff, astronaut Julie Payette, as a flight engineer, sat in the flight deck with the Shuttle's commander and pilot. She is part of the cockpit crew that flies the Shuttle and docks it to the space station. Payette will also operate three robotic arms during this robotics-intense mission: the Shuttle's Canadarm, the Station's Canadarm2 and the Japanese arm on Kibo. Canadian robotic technology will be used almost every day during this critical assembly mission.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-127/html/fd1.html