STS-127

Occurred 15 years ago

STS-127 delivered the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and the Kibo Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section.

Space Shuttle

Endeavour

mission duration

15 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes, 58 seconds

Launch

July 15, 2009

Landing

July 31, 2009

Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, these seven astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-127 crew portrait.

Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, these seven astronauts took a break from training to pose for the STS-127 crew portrait. Pictured on the front row are astronauts Mark Polansky (right), commander, and Doug Hurley, pilot. Remaining crew members, pictured from left to right, are astronauts Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Canadian Space Agency’s Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra, all mission specialists. Kopra joined Expedition 20 as flight engineer after launching to the International Space Station with the STS-127 crew. (10 Oct. 2008)

NASA

Mission Facts

Mission: Deliver and install components of the Japanese Experiment Module
Space Shuttle: Endeavour
Launch Pad: 39A
Launched: July 15, 2009 at 6:03 p.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Landing: July 31, 2009 at 10:48 a.m. EDT
Mission Duration: 15 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes, 58 seconds
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Miles Traveled: 6.5 million

Crew:

Mark Polansky, Commander

Doug Hurley, Pilot

Dave Wolf, Mission Specialist

Christopher Cassidy, Mission Specialist

Julie Payette, Mission Specialist

Tom Marshburn, Mission Specialist

Tim Kopra, Mission Specialist

Mission Highlights

Space shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven astronauts lifted off from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A at 6:03 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

The on-time liftoff followed several prior launch attempts. The first two tries in June were foiled by a gaseous hydrogen leak from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, which attaches a gaseous hydrogen vent line to the shuttle’s external fuel tank. Crews worked tirelessly to investigate and repair the problem, and a successful July 1 tank test cleared the vehicle for flight. But Florida’s notoriously dynamic weather prevented the next few launch attempts.

Finally, after a smooth countdown that saw steadily improving weather, Endeavour and its crew launched on a complex mission to complete assembly of the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station.

Nearly sixteen days and more than 6.5 million miles later, Endeavour touched down on Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility at 10:48 a.m. EDT on the mission’s first landing opportunity.