Status Report

NASA STS-118 Status Report #22 Sunday, August 19, 2007 – 4 a.m. CDT

By SpaceRef Editor
August 19, 2007
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NASA STS-118 Status Report #22 Sunday, August 19, 2007 – 4 a.m. CDT
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Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station today, winding up a successful stay of almost nine days at the orbiting laboratory.

The Endeavour crew, Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, and Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Dave Williams, Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew, was awakened for undocking day at 3:37 a.m. CDT by “Teacher, Teacher,” performed by .38 Special. It was for Morgan. Station Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clay Anderson got their standard wakeup tone about the same time.

Endeavour and station crew members said their farewells Saturday afternoon, and hatches were closed between the two vehicles at 4:10 p.m. Undocking is scheduled for 6:57 a.m. The shuttle will move slowly away from the station. At a distance of a little more than 400 feet, a separation burn at about 7:25 a.m. will begin Endeavour’s move away from the area of the station.

Just after 8:30 a.m. Endeavour’s robotic arm will unberth the Orbiter Boom Sensor System for the standard wings and nose cap survey. The survey, to make sure the spacecraft is ready for re-entry, will conclude before the OBSS is reberthed at 1:47 p.m. and the arm powered down about 35 minutes later.

Endeavour crew members will get some time off during the afternoon, beginning about 3:35 p.m., four hours before the scheduled start of their sleep period. The first landing opportunity is at Kennedy Space Center at 11:29 a.m. on Tuesday.

Mission managers continue to monitor Hurricane Dean. Early Sunday Dean, with 145 mph winds, was about 155 miles south of Port au Prince, Haiti, moving west-northwest at about 17 mph. If the storm threatens Mission Control Houston, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and White Sands Space Harbor, N.M., also would be called up for a Tuesday landing.

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

SpaceRef staff editor.