The shuttle is finishing its 16-day mission to the ISS

Jul 31, 2009 07:03 GMT  ·  By
Endeavor jettisons small observation satellites from its cargo bay, while en route back to Earth
   Endeavor jettisons small observation satellites from its cargo bay, while en route back to Earth

On the eve of their planned landing today, scheduled to take place at 10:48 am EDT (1448 GMT) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Cape Canaveral, Florida, space shuttle Endeavor astronauts deployed yesterday a number of small satellites into orbit. The two sets of observatories were jettisoned from the craft's cargo bay, and their goal is to demonstrate a new technology, and to survey the planet's atmosphere from a low orbit. At the same time, the astronauts received word from Mission Control that their shuttle was fit for reentry, and began to prepare for the complex procedures that would follow.

“Well thank you Houston, that's good news. We're looking forward to trying to come back tomorrow,” Endeavor Commander Mark Polansky replied, upon hearing the good news. The seven astronauts were a bit worried about the state of the craft's heat shield, which was hit by excessively high amounts of insulating foam when the shuttle took off from the KSC, on July 15th. However, the first inspection, which was carried out on the same day, revealed no sings of concerns. Pictures taken by ISS astronauts as Endeavor was maneuvering to dock also showed no damage, and a final inspection, carried out yesterday, convinced mission controllers that the dents in the shield posed no threat to the crew and the ship.

During their tiring, 16-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Endeavor crew spent 11 of them docked to the lab. They performed five complex spacewalks, and finished installing the Exposed Facility extension on the $1-billion Japanese Kibo science module. They completed the porch-like structure with installing three new experiments, and added video-surveillance equipment as well. Additionally, spacewalkers also changed the station's oldest solar batteries, which had been in use for more than nine years, despite a space life of much less. Spare parts were also attached to the backbone-like truss rod of the football field-long structure, Space informs.

With the departure of the STS-127 mission from the ISS, JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata's stay on the facility came to a close. After residing on the station for more than the scheduled three months – due to the delays that occurred in Endeavor's launch schedule –, the first Japanese long-term astronaut switched places with NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra, which thus became the new ISS flight engineer. On his way back home, Wakata said that he couldn't wait to grab a bite of fresh sushi as soon as he got home.