NASA STS-118 Status Report #08 Sunday, August 12, 2007 – 6:30 a.m. CDT

Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

Space shuttle Endeavour crew members will take a close look at areas of apparent damage to the orbiter’s thermal protection system in a focused inspection today.

The crew, Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, and Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Dave Williams, Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew, was awakened for focused inspection day at 6:07 a.m. CDT by “Up!” performed by Shania Twain. It was played for Williams.

The International Space Station’s Canadarm2 will unberth the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and hand it off to the shuttle’s robotic arm a little after 8:45 a.m. The OBSS is an extension of the shuttle’s arm and has sophisticated electronic and visual sensors at its end.

Caldwell, Morgan and Kelly will do most of the focused inspection, with Hobaugh and station Flight Engineer Clay Anderson at the controls of the station arm. Other crew members will work to transfer equipment and supplies between the two spacecraft.

The day after successful completion of the first spacewalk of Endeavour’s STS-118 mission to the station, preparations will begin for the second. Mastracchio and Williams will prepare spacewalking tools during two sessions, one this morning and another this afternoon. All crew members will do an hour-long spacewalk procedure review starting about 5:45 p.m.

Just after 8 p.m. Mastracchio and Williams will begin another campout in the Quest airlock. Their Monday spacewalk is devoted to replacement of a malfunctioning control moment gyroscope, one of four in the Z1 truss that control the orientation of the station, with a spare brought by Endeavour.

The next status report will be issued Sunday evening or earlier if events warrant.