Music.
Eight, seven, six, go for main engine start, four, three, two, one, zero and liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour,
expanding the International Space Station while creating a classroom in space.
After a spectacular liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in August of 2007, Space Shuttle Endeavour settled into orbit and a
20-year dream was realized by teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan, one of the seven crew members.
Mission STS-118's crew also included Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charlie Hobaugh,
and Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Alvin Drew and Dave Williams with the Canadian Space Agency.
On the first day in space, Endeavour received a careful and extensive inspection of its
thermal protection system with the orbiter boom sensor system.
Before docking, Kelly piloted Endeavour through its backflip maneuver to
enable the station crew members to photograph the tiles on the orbiter's belly.
The inspection revealed a small ding that after careful analysis,
mission managers and crew members decided would not hamper a safe flight home.
With docking completed, the hatches opened between the orbiter and station.
Floating at 17,000 miles per hour and more than 200 miles above the Earth,
the Expedition 15 crew welcomed their seven guests.
First-time spacewalkers Mastracchio and Williams ventured out of the station to install the car-sized,
4,000-pound Starboard 5 truss segment with the help of the Canadarm operated by Hobaugh and Anderson.
Williams and Mastracchio completed their second spacewalk after installing a
600-pound gyroscope which controls station orientation,
replacing one of four that failed in October of 2006.
Endeavour was the first orbiter to try out a new system designed to let the orbiter use electrical
power from the station and allow the vehicle to stay in space for an extended period of time.
As part of her duties as mission specialist, Morgan carried millions of basil
seeds into orbit and aboard the space station as part of an experiment.
Some remained to grow in low gravity; the rest returned to Earth and will be divided into science kits for students to study.
Another first on this mission was accomplished when the astronauts installed the
7,000-pound external stowage platform using only the robotic arms of the station and the shuttle.
The platform will be used for storing extra parts and equipment outside the space station.
A third and fourth spacewalk completed most of the mission tasks before
flight control decided to move Endeavour's undocking a day earlier,
after reviewing Hurricane Dean's possible track toward Texas.
The undocking process went off without a hitch.
A day later, mission managers in Houston gave a "go for deorbit burn" and about an hour later,
Endeavour glided to a graceful touchdown at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility in the early afternoon of August 21.
MISSION CONTROL: Roger, wheels stop, Endeavour. Congratulations. Welcome home.
You've given a new meaning to higher education.