STS-134 Day 3: Back-Flip, Docking, ELC Mounting

Endeavour docked at 6:14 am EDT Wednesday morning over the west coast of Chile. Prior to docking, CMDR Mark Kelly and Pilot Greg (Box) Johnson performed the "back flip" maneuver to allow high resolution photographs to be taken of the heat shield tiles from the space station. These photos are analyzed by ground crews to see if there was any damage to the tiles during flight.

Endeavour approaches ISS for docking.

Endeavour CMDR Mark Kelly and ISS CMDR Dima Kondraryev after the hatches were opened.

The STS-134 crew was welcomed by the ISS Expedition 27 crew and then given safety briefings before getting to work. The first order of business was for Greg (Taz) Chamitoff and Mike (Spanky) Fink to unload the first major payload - the express logistics carrier (ELC). This is a pallet of spare parts, supplies, and equipment that will help to keep the ISS operational even after the Shuttle Program comes to an end later this summer. The ELC is essentially a fully stocked tool shed. The ELC was removed by Endeavour's robotic arm, handed off to the ISS robotic arm and moved by ISS arm to the starboard (right) truss. The trusses are the arms that extend left and right of the main habitation and lab modules. The trusses have the solar arrays mounted to them.

NASA Video

NASA TV broadcasts around the clock with programming related to the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and other NASA projects. Programming repeats throughout the day, so even if you miss a live broadcast, you can often catch a repeat a few hours later.

• NASA TV in HD
• NASA TV Schedule

NASA YouTube Channel is a great place to find archived clips of video programming that was shown on NASA TV. Clips are often edited down and condensed.

• STS-134 Playlist
• ISS Expedition 27 Playlist
• ISS Expedition 28 Playlist

How Do They Do It? on the Science Channel

May 20 at 5:30 p.m. 
The rockets that launch the space shuttle; binocular lenses; windshield wiper blades.

Lift Off of STS-134!

Shuttle Endeavour left KSC Launch Pad 39A at 8:56 a.m. EDT in spectacular fashion. It was a beautiful launch and it was extra special having ALL of my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade math and science students joining me. This is the 25th and final flight for Shuttle Endeavour. They are headed to the International Space Station to bring several important science experiments, supplies and spare parts for the station.

Already there are some great video clips of the mission. I will share links in another post later. For now, I'll share this photo that photographer Red Huber from the Orlando Sentinel shared on Twitter.

Flight controllers in Houston said good night to commander Mark Kelly and crew about 4:00pm. After successfully getting into orbit, the astronauts quickly went to work transforming their rocket into a spacecraft by opening the payload bay doors and getting various systems up and running. They'll be awakened Monday night for Flight Day 2 at 11:56 p.m. EDT.

Tanking Began on Schedule at 11:36pm

Tanking is underway, filling the external fuel tank (ET - the big orange center tank) with a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The ET fuels the shuttle's three main engines during lift off. This particular ET was damaged during Hurricane Katrina. It was repaired and cycled back into the launch flow. The tank holds about 535,000 gallons of fuel.

11:30 p.m.	NASA TV: External Tank Fueling Coverage Begins
11:36 p.m.	Countdown resumes at the T-6 hour mark
Midnight	Crew wakeup
12:21 a.m.	Liquid Hydrogen Low Level Cutoff sensors go "wet"
12:30 a.m.	Crew breakfast
12:36 a.m.	Liquid Hydrogen "fast fill" begins
1 a.m.	Crew final medical exams
1:51 a.m.	LH2 "topping" begins
2:36 a.m.	Countdown enters a 2 1/2 hour hold at the T-3 hour mark
3:30 a.m.	Launch Coverage Begins on NASA TV and the Launch Blog
4:31 a.m.	Astronauts receive a weather briefing from the Ascent Team
4:41 a.m.	Astronauts suit up for launch
5:06 a.m.	Countdown resumes at the T-3 hour mark
5:11 a.m.	Crew departs for Launch Pad 39A
5:41 p.m.	The astronauts begin to board Endeavour
6:56 a.m.	Endeavour's hatch is closed and latched for launch
7:46 a.m.	Countdown enters a 10-minute built-in hold at the T-20 minute mark
7:56 a.m.	Countdown resumes at the T-20 minute mark
8:07 a.m.	Countdown enters a ~40-minute built-in hold at the T-9 minute mark - MMT conducts final poll "Go-No Go" for launch
8:52 a.m.	Countdown resumes at the T-9 minute mark
8:56:26 a.m.	Launch of Endeavour on the STS-134 Mission
9:04:49 a.m.	Main Engine Cut-Off (MECO)
~ 10 a.m.	NASA TV: Post launch news conference

Out To Launch

Endeavour's six astronauts spent today studying flight plans, visiting with their families and touring the shuttle at the pad. They also received briefings on orbiter preparations, the payload status and the weather forecast from the ascent team of flight controllers in Houston.

They go to sleep at 4 p.m. EDT and will be awakened for launch day at 12 midnight. They'll have breakfast at 12:30 a.m. and then undergo final medical exams at 1 a.m. Suit up begins around 4:30 a.m. and departure from crew quarters is scheduled for 5:11 a.m. in preparation for blastoff at 8:56 a.m. EDT.

RSS Retract, Shuttle Go for Launch

At 12:00 p.m. EDT, the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) was retracted, revealing Shuttle Endeavour poised for lift off tomorrow morning at 8:56 a.m.

The STS-134 crew are scheduled to wake up at midnight for launch preparations. Here's a brief schedule of tomorrow's events:


Crew Activities: (times may vary slightly)
12 a.m. -- Crew wakes up (not on NASA TV)
4:31 a.m. -- Weather briefing (commander, pilot and mission specialist 2)(not on NASA TV)
About 4:41 a.m. -- Astronauts don flight suits
5:11 a.m. -- Depart for launch pad
5:41 a.m. -- Arrive at White Room and begin boarding Endeavour
6:56 a.m. -- Crew hatch closed and latched

8:56 a.m. - Launch!