ISS Orbit Adjusted To Host Shuttle Endeavor

STATION NEWS

Flight Readiness Review to Begin Wednesday
As launch preparations continue for the STS-118 mission, NASA managers will gather at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday for the flight readiness review. During the two-day meeting, officials will evaluate the status of the vehicle, crew and payload and decide whether Space Shuttle Endeavour and STS-118 are officially "go" for launch. Last week, the crew members completed the terminal countdown demonstration test. A routine element of prelaunch training, the test allowed the astronauts to try on their launch and entry suits, learn emergency procedures at the launch pad, and take part in a variety of familiarization activities and briefings. The test concluded with a countdown dress rehearsal at Launch Pad 39A. Space Shuttle Endeavour has been in place at the launch pad since July 11, and the STS-118 payload -- including the S5 truss, SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3 -- is secured inside the orbiter's payload bay. Launch is targeted for the evening of August 7

by Staff Writers
Moscow (SPX) Jul 25, 2007
Russian Mission Control said Tuesday it successfully adjusted the International Space Station's orbit in preparation for the docking of the U.S. space shuttle Endeavor, due to be launched August 8. Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo ships and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings. The correction started at 2:06 a.m. Moscow time (10:06 p.m. GMT Monday) with the help of the Progress M-60 cargo ship, which is already docked with the ISS.

The cargo ship's boosters were activated for 1,265 seconds (about 21 minutes), while the orbit was raised 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles), bringing the space station to an altitude of 337.5 kilometers (about 210 miles) over the Earth's surface.

"The correction was made without the crew's participation," a Mission Control's spokesman said.

The launch of the NASA STS-118 mission is targeted for August 8. It will be the 22nd flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the first flight for Endeavour since 2002.

Endeavour, which has been modernized and equipped with a new system designed to let the shuttle use electrical power from the space station, will deliver a new truss segment, a Spacehab module, and an external stowage platform to the ISS, which is planned to be completed by 2010.

NASA said that during the 11-day mission, the seven-member Endeavour crew would conduct three space walks. An electrical boost from the space station could allow the mission to be extended for three extra days, and an additional spacewalk could be added.

The Endeavor is already being prepared for its rollout to the launch pad.

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STATION NEWS

Station Crew Completes Successful Spacewalk

Houston TX (SPX) Jul 24, 2007
Two International Space Station crew members Monday successfully wrapped up a 7-hour, 41-minute spacewalk that saw the removal and jettison of a refrigerator-size ammonia reservoir. The spacewalk from the Quest Airlock ended at 2:06 p.m. EDT. Astronaut Clay Anderson was the lead spacewalker, EV1, wearing the spacesuit with red stripes.

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