16 Jul 2009

STS-127 over Dublin 15 July 09

I have seen a lot of Shuttle and ISS passes over Ireland but last night was something else. What a sight!

Mission: STS-127
Orbiter: Endeavour
Primary Payload: Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility, Kibo Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section
Launch Date: July 15
Launch Time: 6:03 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39A
Landing Date: July 31
Landing Time: 10:45 a.m.
Mission Duration: 16 days
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

Main engine cutoff is confirmed: space shuttle Endeavour has reached orbit. The shuttle lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as planned at 7:17 a.m. EDT and began its orbital chase of the International Space Station, orbiting 225 miles above Earth's surface.


STS-127 Mission Overview
The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.

For 50 years, NASAs been famous for counting backward from 10 to zero. But a final countdown is now under way that will stand out among them all.

NASA - Space Shuttle Mission: STS-127 (Take Off) 15 July 09









Here's another video of the Shuttle in orbit!





I also took photos of the Shuttle & the ISS in orbit last night, I hope to upload them later!

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