I recently visited Kennedy's Orbiter Processing Facility to find out how a highly skilled team of shuttle technicians spent the past few months preparing Endeavour for STS-126. Space shuttle Endeavour's most recent mission was STS-123 back in March. Now, when a shuttle returns from space, a lot of work goes into refurbishing and repairing it before it's ready to fly again. And Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus will relieve station Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff, becoming part of Expedition 18. Mission Specialist Don Pettit is returning to the station he served as NASA's space station science officer on Expedition 6. The lead spacewalker, Mission Specialist Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, flew with Ferguson on her first spaceflight, STS-115. Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough are the flight's first-time flyers. It's an ambitious mission with a full timeline but the seven-member flight crew is up to the task.Ĭommander Chris Ferguson is making his second spaceflight. These joints are essential, because they allow the station's massive power-generating solar panels to track the sun. The mission will include four spacewalks to make repairs and upgrades to the station's two solar alpha rotary joints. In addition to the slate of work planned inside the station, there also will be a lot of work outside. It will work with the Oxygen Generation System to generate drinking water and breathable air for the station's residents. The Water Reclamation System will recycle wastewater. There are extra crew sleeping bunks and more exercise equipment and a new addition to the station's regenerative life support system. It's packed completely full of supplies and equipment that will allow the station to support a six-person crew starting next year. On STS-126, Endeavour is carrying a reusable logistics module called Leonardo. Longer and wider than commercial runways, it was specially designed for the high-speed landing of this unpowered, winged spacecraft. The shuttle's twin launch pads, 39A and 39B, have a prime beachside location a perfect place to begin a mission.Īnd when the shuttle comes home, its preferred landing site is the Shuttle Landing Facility just west of the VAB. In this mammoth facility, the shuttle orbiter is joined with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. It dominates the Kennedy skyline and is visible across Florida's Space Coast. With its 8-acre footprint, the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, is one of the largest buildings in the world. Each bay provides access to every square inch of the spacecraft for the technicians who prepare it for flight. The 3-bay Orbiter Processing Facility is where the space shuttle orbiters spend most of their time. Launch Complex 39 is made up of a collection of facilities custom-designed for preparing, launching and landing the space shuttle. ![]() For every one of NASA's human spaceflights, that place is Kennedy Space Center.Ĭomplex and challenging space missions begin here, amid this primitive Florida landscape, where eagles soar and alligators roam. It requires a prime location, massive facilities, just the right tools and equipment and of course, a stellar work force. ![]() ![]() Preparing any vehicle for a thundering ride into space is no easy task. Let's find out what makes America's Spaceport so unique. But first there's no better place on Earth to get a space shuttle ready to fly than right here at Kennedy Space Center. During the 15-day mission, a well-trained astronaut crew will install several pieces of key hardware and conduct four spacewalks outside the station. We're counting down to the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour on its STS-126 mission and I'm here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to take you behind the scenes.Įndeavour is embarking on NASA's 27th flight to the International Space Station, orbiting more than 200 miles above us. I'm your host, Damon Talley of NASA's Digital Learning Network.
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