STS-126 Mission

Liftoff remains on schedule for 7:55 p.m. EST Friday, 14th November 2008. The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions and the launch team reports no technical issues.

The flight of space shuttle Endeavour includes several significant steps to install new crew equipment inside the International Space Station and service the solar array joints of the laboratory. During STS-126, the crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the space station will:

-- Exchange crew members. Sandra Magnus will swap places with current station resident Greg Chamitoff.

-- Conduct four spacewalks. Working in teams of two, astronauts will emerge from the space stations Quest airlock and work on the two large joints that turn the stations massive solar array wings. They are to service the starboard side joint and perform preventative maintenance on the port side joint.

-- Install new crew quarters, a galley, waste water recycling system and oxygen generator inside the space station. The equipment has been packed inside refrigerator-sized racks that require forklifts to lift them on Earth. But in space, a single astronaut can move a rack around with little problem.

Endeavour and its crew are to land at NASAs Kennedy Space Center after 15 days in space.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• STS-126
• STS
• 126
• Mission
• Space
• Shuttle
• Endeavour

[MewFushisDad]

The U.S. is just going to give up on it?

When are we supposedly going back to the moon and then on to Mars?

[robotguy]

It's not a dumb question. As far as I can tell, U.S. involvement in the space station is going to end in 2016.

[notbendable]

Thanks Bruno!

[MewFushisDad]

This is awesome.

Six person capacity for the space station. Great.

This might seem a dumb question but is there any thoughts and or plans about the space station in 10, 20, 30 years and beyond.

Will the space station eventually be used a launch or assembly platform for space craft heading to the other planets?

Thanks for these great videos. I'm glad I stumbled onto your postings.