STS-126 Fact Sheet

By Cliff Lethbridge

STS-126 – Endeavour

124th Space Shuttle Mission

22nd Flight of Endeavour

Crew:

Chris Ferguson, Commander

Eric Boe, Pilot

Steve Bowen, Mission Specialist

Shane Kimbrough, Mission Specialist

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Mission Specialist

Donald Pettit, Mission Specialist

Sandra Magnus, Mission Specialist, Embarking to International Space Station

Gregory Chamitoff, Flight Engineer, Returning from International Space Station

Orbiter Preparations:

Tow to Orbiter Processing Facility – March 27, 2008

Rollover to Vehicle Assembly Building – September 11, 2008

Rollout to Launch Pad 39B – September 19, 2008 (as rescue Shuttle for STS-125)

Rollaround to Launch Pad 39A – October 23, 2008 (for Launch)

Launch:

November 14, 2008 – 7:55 p.m. EST. Launch occurred on schedule with no delays.

Landing:

November 30, 2008 – 4:25 p.m. EST on a temporary landing strip adjacent to Runway 22/04, Edwards Air Force Base, California. Two landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center were waived due to bad weather. Mission duration was 15 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes, 37 seconds.

Mission Summary:

The chief goal of the mission was to outfit the International Space Station (ISS) for six-person crews. There were four spacewalks during the mission. The first spacewalk was conducted on November 18 and lasted 6 hours, 52 minutes. Astronauts Piper and Bowen cleaned and lubricated parts of the ISS Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ). During this spacewalk, a tool bag was accidentally released into space. The bag was replaced by a spare.

The second spacewalk was conducted on November 20 and lasted 6 hours, 45 minutes. Astronauts Piper and Kimbrough moved two carts, lubricated the ISS robotic arm and cleaned and lubricated the starboard SARJ race ring. The third spacewalk was conducted on November 22 and lasted 6 hours, 57 minutes. Astronauts Piper and Bowen cleaned and lubricated race rings on the ISS starboard SARJ.

The fourth spacewalk was conducted on November 24 and lasted 6 hours, 7 minutes. Astronauts Kimbrough and Bowen lubricated the race rings on the ISS port SARJ, mounted a video camera on the ISS Port 1 Truss, installed two Global Position Satellite antennae on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Logistics Module, retracted a latch on the JEM and reinstalled the JEM cover.