Damage, Hurrican Dean

Endeavor Safely Home

By Joshua S. Hill

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Ever since the Challenger disaster of 1986, and backed up by the tragic events that surrounded the space shuttle Columbia, there has been a collective holding of breath when a shuttle makes its way home. It was no different Tuesday, as the space shuttle Endeavor made its way home from the International Space Station.

Of course, the news that Endeavor had taken damage on liftoff did not help matters, but after extensive investigation of the damaged area it was deemed safe to return, and, with Hurricane Dean making its way north of the equator, Endeavor's mission -- two days extended already -- was rushed safely home.

The collective holding of breath was exhaled when at 12:32 pm, the Endeavor landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday, with Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charlie Hobaugh and mission specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Barbara R. Morgan, Alvin Drew and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dave Williams all on board and safe.

Four spacewalks were accomplished by the crew, with the installation of new technology aboard the ISS their primary function. In conjunction with station flight engineer Clayton Anderson, Williams and Mastracchio also managed to prepare for future visits, by relocating an equipment cart, and installing equipment and communication upgrades.

One of the triumphs of the mission named STS-118 was the successful testing of a new docking system that enables a shuttle to draw power from the ISS to extend its stay. It was as a result of this new system that Endeavor was able to stay an extra two days, not only providing a buffer for their set tasks but a welcome relief after the damage caused as they took off.

The second of four missions planned for 2007, the space shuttle Discovery is the next to make her way in to space, set to launch the STS-120 mission in October to deliver the pressurized Node 2 connecting module to the station.