STS-127 Crew Completes Kibo Construction

Following five attempts, STS-127 successfully launched July 15 on a mission to expand the International Space Station’s (ISS’s) science facilities.

Endeavour and her seven-member crew docked to the Station on July 17, signaling the start of a week of joint operations between the Shuttle and Station crews. Hatches between the vehicles were opened at 2:43 p.m. EDT, bringing the total number of crewmembers aboard the orbiting outpost to a record 13.

The focus of the STS-127 mission was the delivery of the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (EF) and the Kibo Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section (ELM-ES). Installation of these components concluded assembly of the Japanese complex facility on the ISS.

“The mission made great progress in advancing the Station’s facilities,” said Brian Breen, USA International Space Station Program Manager. “The challenges accomplished on this flight will expand the ISS capabilities and enable crewmembers to increase the amount of unpressurized science studies.”

The main mission construction and maintenance tasks took place over five spacewalks, with Mission Specialists David Wolf, Thomas Marshburn, Christopher Cassidy and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra teaming into pairs to complete installation and outfitting of the final Kibo components. Kopra replaced Koichi Wakata as an Expedition 20 Flight Engineer. Wakata had been aboard the Station since March 2009 and returned to Earth with the STS-127 crew. Kopra is scheduled for an almost three-month stay in orbit.

Along with detailed test objective tasks, crewmembers had to troubleshoot a malfunction with the U.S. Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) in the Destiny laboratory. The WHC is one of two toilet systems on the Station, and it is believed a pump in the system failed and most likely contaminated internal parts of the WHC. Astronauts spent about 2.5 hours replacing components, and after testing, the crew was given a “go” to use the WHC.

Another milestone on STS-127 included the use of all three of the robotic arms, sometimes all on the same day. The Shuttle’s Canadarm and the Station’s Canadarm2 were used for surveys, unloading cargo and moving equipment and spacewalkers, and the new Japanese robotic arm, delivered to the Station aboard STS-126 in November, made its debut to transfer science experiments.

Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 1:26 p.m. EDT on July 28. After completing a fly-around of the Space Station at a distance of 400 feet, Endeavour performed a maneuver to separate from the station.

This is Endeavour’s 24th flight and the 29th Shuttle mission to the ISS. Endeavour landed at 10:52 EDT on July 31.

“This flight, once again, highlighted the capabilities of the Space Shuttle and all that can be accomplished with such a versatile and reliable vehicle,” said Howard DeCastro, USA Space Shuttle Program Manager. “The whole USA team should feel proud of their contributions to such an outstanding mission.”

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