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STS-126

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STS-126
COSPAR ID2008-059A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.33441Edit this on Wikidata
End of mission

STS-126 is the next Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which will be flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. The purpose of the ISS mission, named ULF2, is to deliver equipment and supplies to the station, to service the Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJs), and repair the problem in the starboard SARJ that has limited its use since STS-120.[1] Launch of STS-126 is targeted for November 14, 2008.[2]

Crew

Launching ISS Expedition 18 Crew

Landing ISS Expedition 18 Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to, and including this mission.

Crew notes

Originally scheduled to fly was Joan E. Higginbotham, who was a mission specialist on STS-116.[3] On November 21, 2007, NASA announced a change in the crew manifest, due to Higginbotham's decision to leave NASA to take a job in the private sector.[4] Stephen Bowen was originally assigned to STS-124 but was moved to STS-126 to allow the shuttle to rotate an ISS crew member.[5][6]

Mission parameters

Mission payloads

STS-126 is scheduled to be a 15-day mission with four spacewalks, largely dedicated to servicing and repair of the Solar Alpha Rotary Joints. The starboard SARJ has showed anomalous behavior since STS-120, and its use has been minimized pending diagnosis and repair. Both the starboard and port SARJs will be serviced.[7] In addition to lubricating both bearings, the remaining 11 Trundle Bearings in the right SARJ will be replaced.[1] STS-126 will also include the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) that will hold supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, additional exercise equipment, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware.

Shuttle processing

Endeavour at launch pad 39B.

Space Shuttle Endeavour was moved from its Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2) to the Vehicle Assembly Building on September 11, 2008. Roll out to Launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center took place overnight September 18-19 and was completed at 7am EDT on September 19, 2008.

Endeavour was originally moved to launch pad 39B ahead of the normal schedule to be on standby as the Launch on Need (LON) flight for STS-125. In the event that something happened to Atlantis during its flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope, a rescue flight could be performed with Endeavour. With both Atlantis and Endeavour on the pads, it was the 18th time that two flight-ready orbiters were in position at both launch pads at the same time.[8]

On September 29, 2008, NASA announced that due to a problem with the Hubble telescope, they would be revising the manifest to postpone STS-125 until 2009, so a solution to the new issue with the telescope could be implemented into the flight plan.[9][10]

The payload for STS-126, including the MPLM Leonardo, arrived at launch pad 39A early on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Space Shuttle Endeavour began moving off of launch pad 39B at 8:28am EDT on Oct. 23, and was secured on launch pad 39A at 4:47pm EDT. The move took about 7hrs and clears the way for the final steps in its processing for launch on STS-126 in November.


Mission background

The mission will mark:[11]

  • 155th American manned space flight
  • 124th shuttle mission since STS-1
  • 99th post-Challenger mission
  • 11th post-Columbia mission
  • 22nd flight of Endeavour
  • 27th shuttle mission to the ISS

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Frank Morring, Jr. (2008). "Crew To Pull Pyro Bolt On Soyuz". Aviation Week. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  2. ^ NASA (2008). "NASA's Shuttle and Rocket Missions". NASA. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b NASA (2007). "NASA Assigns Crew for Space Station Assembly Mission". NASA. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b NASA (2007). "NASA Amends Crew Assignment for STS-126 Mission". NASA. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ NASA (2007). "NASA Assigns Crew for Space Station Assembly Mission". NASA. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ NASA (2007). "NASA Assigns Crew for Shuttle Mission to Install Japanese Lab". NASA. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Spaceflight Now (2008). "Summaries of remaining space shuttle flights". Spaceflightnow.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Spaceflightnow.com (2008). "List of space shuttles occupying both launch pads". Spaceflightnow.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Dennis Overbye (2008). "NASA Delays Trip to Repair Hubble Telescope". New York Times. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Marcia Dunn (2008). "NASA delays repair mission to Hubble telescope". Associated Press. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)[dead link‍]
  11. ^ William Harwood (2008). "CBS NEWS Mission Quick-Look 1". CBS News. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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