NASA's space shuttle Endeavour on Tuesday was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) at 2:28 EDT (06:28 GMT). The liftoff is the second of six flights NASA planned for an ambitious 2008 launch schedule, and marks the 122nd space shuttle mission, the 25th flight to the space station and Endeavour's 21st launch.
Commanded by Dominic Gorie, the STS-123 mission crew consists of seven-astronauts.
They include Dominic Gorie, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan, Garrett Reisman and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Doi.
Reisman will replace current station crew member Leopold Eyharts, who has lived on the outpost since early February. Reisman will return to Earth on shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission, targeted for launch on May 25, 2008.
During their planned 16-day mission — the longest station-bound flight yet — Endeavour's seven astronauts will work with the three-member space station crew and ground teams around the world to install a giant Canadian robot, deliver the first piece of Japan's
school bus-sized Kibo laboratory, they will also perform no less than five spacewalks and conduct a series of on-orbit science experiments.
Endeavour's cargo will help continue the station's assembly. The Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section, or ELM-PS, will hold experiment samples, maintenance tools and other spare items. The Canadian Robot, Dextre can be attached to the station's robotic arm to handle smaller components typically requiring a spacewalking astronaut. At the tip of each arm is a "hand" that consists of retractable jaws used to grip objects.
Less than 24 hours after space shuttle Endeavour's successful launch, NASA said the mission was going well despite two glitches and a strange object spotted in launch video.
Several hours after Gorie's crew launched into space on Tuesday morning at 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT), spacecraft communicators told Gorie that a strange object was spotted in launch video 10 seconds into the liftoff.
Whatever the case, NASA is confident Endeavour will be in good shape for a March 26th landing following a standard yet detailed inspection of the orbiter's toughest heat-resistant tiling. Commander Gorie, shuttle pilot Gregory H. Johnson and mission specialist Takao Doi of Japan performed the six-hour inspection using the shuttle's 50-foot (15-meter) sensor-tipped extension boom.
The Space Shuttle Docked with the ISS on Wednesday at 11:49pm and is set to return on March 26th 2008.
NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of Endeavour's mission. NASA Television features live mission events, daily mission status news conferences and 24-hour commentary. NASA TV is webcast at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv .
NASA's Web coverage of STS-123 includes current mission information, interactive features, and news conference images, graphics and videos. Mission coverage, including the latest NASA TV schedule, also is available on the main space shuttle Web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
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