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Space shuttle Endeavour lifted off in a blaze of smoke and clouds on the STS-127 mission at 6:03
p.m. Eastern time, July 15, 2009.
Safely secured inside the shuttle were the mission's seven astronauts, Commander Mark Polansky,
Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialists Chris Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Julie
Payette of the Canadian Space Agency. Also inside were the final segments of the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.
Just before docking, Polansky guided the shuttle to within 600 feet of the station and performed the flip
maneuver, allowing photos to be taken of the shuttle's thermal protection system by the station crew.
After docking and with the traditional ringing of the bell, the hatches between the two space vehicles
opened and the STS-127 crew was given a hearty welcome. This was the first time in space history 13
humans were in orbit together at the same time.
Within a few hours after docking, Kopra replaced Wakata as flight engineer. Wakata returned to Earth
with the Endeavour crew after a four-month assignment on station.
After "camping out" in the station's Quest airlock overnight, Wolf and Kopra were first to travel out into
space to install the Japanese Exposed Facility to Kibo.
The second spacewalk executed by Wolf and Marshburn took place on July 20, the same day 40 years
ago when the world's focus was on the first moonwalk. The six-hour, 53-minute excursion involved a
number of station hardware replacement and installation tasks.
During the third spacewalk to install six new batteries for the station's oldest solar arrays, Cassidy's CO2
levels increased to a level that signaled an end to the spacewalk a little earlier than planned. The
remainder of the new batteries was installed during the fourth space excursion and the old ones were
stored in Endeavour's payload bay for the ride home.
Polansky, Hurley and Payette, along with Kopra, used the shuttle and station robotic arms to maneuver
the Japanese Exposed Section cargo carrier back into Endeavour?s payload bay.
After a well-deserved day of rest for the entire crew, Marshburn and Cassidy performed the fifth and
final spacewalk installing video cameras on the front and back of the new Japanese Exposed Facility.
A complex and demanding undertaking at the station that included 30 hours, 30 minutes throughout five
spacewalks came to a close as Endeavour parted company with the Expedition crew members and the
hatches were closed once again.
After undocking, Hurley carefully guided the shuttle away from the station, flying around the orbiting
outpost for one final look at all the work accomplished on this mission.
One more inspection of the spacecraft?s heat shield was performed with the Orbiter Boom Sensor
System before the shuttle was cleared for landing.
CAPCOM: Endeavour, Houston, great news! You are "Go" for the deorbit burn.
Commander Mike Polansky: You are a steely-eyed hero! "Go" for the deorbit burn.
Endeavour touched down on the first opportunity under clear-blue skies at Kennedy Space Center in
Florida at 10:48 Eastern time July 31.
A complex and successful 16-day mission packed with spacewalks, robotics work, science experiments
and completion of the Japanese segment on the orbital outpost came to a close with the safe return of
the crew and a flawless landing.