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02/10/10: STS-130: Space Shuttle Endeavour delivers Tranquility and the Cupola to the ISS.
Mission: STS-130
Orbiter: Endeavour
Launch Pad: 39A
Launch Date: Feb 8, 2010, 04:14 EST (09:14 UT)
Landing: Shuttle Landing Facility, Kennedy Space Center; Feb 21, 22:20 EST/03:20 UT Feb 22 (deorbit burn: 21:15 EST)
Main gear touchdown: 22:20:31 EST
Nose gear touchdown: 21:20:39 EST
Wheels stop: 22:22:10 EST
Orbital Altitude: 122 nautical miles (140 miles)
Orbital Insertion: 191 nautical miles (220 miles)
Orbital Inclination: 51.6 degrees
Distance traveled: ~5.7 million miles
Crew:- Commander: George D. "Zambo" Zamka; Pilot: Terry Virts; Mission Specialists:- MS1 Kathryn P. "Kay" Hire, MS2 Stephen Robinson, MS3 Nicholas Patrick, MS4 Robert L. Behnken.
5 a.m. CST Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
The space shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station at 11:06 p.m. CST Tuesday, delivering the Tranquility module and its new room with a view, the cupola.
Endeavour Commander George Zamka guided the orbiter to a docking with Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 as the two spacecraft were flying 215 miles above Earth off the western coast of Portugal.
When the shuttle arrived within 600 feet of the station, Endeavour performed the nine-minute Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, or “back flip.” Zamka rotated the orbiter backwards, enabling space station Commander Jeffrey Williams and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov to take high-resolution pictures of the shuttle. The images will be analyzed by experts on the ground to assess the health of Endeavour’s heat shield.
The shuttle and station crews opened hatches at 1:16 a.m. Wednesday as Endeavour and the outpost flew off the northwest coast of Australia. With the arrival of Endeavour’s six astronauts, the station’s population grows to 11 and its mass tops 1 million pounds.
Following a safety briefing by the host station crew, shuttle Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick and station Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer operated the station robotic arm to remove the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from Endeavour’s payload bay. Shuttle Pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialist Kay Hire used the shuttle arm to accept the handoff.
Zamka transferred replacement parts for the station’s water recycling system so that Williams can replace them and reactivate the equipment that processes urine into drinking water for station crews. Mission Specialists Bob Behnken and Patrick moved the spacesuits they will wear during their three spacewalks into the station’s Quest airlock.
Endeavour’s crew will begin its sleep period at 7:14 a.m. and awaken at 3:14 p.m. Wednesday’s work will focus on supply transfers, spacewalk preparations and Water Recovery System repairs. Thursday’s work will focus on installation of the new Tranquility module onto the Unity module and the mission’s first spacewalk.
The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wake or earlier if warranted.
The International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an STS-130 crew member as space shuttle Endeavour and the station approach each other during rendezvous and docking activities. Docking occurred at 11:06 p.m. (CST) on Feb. 9, 2010, delivering the Tranquility node and its Cupola. Image credit: NASA
Space Shuttle Endeavour is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 22 crew member as the shuttle approaches the International Space Station during STS-130 rendezvous and docking operations. Docking occurred at 11:06 p.m. (CST) on Feb. 9, 2010. Image credit: NASA
Timezones: EST = (UT - 5 hours)
EDT = (UT - 4 hours) = (CDT + 1 hour)
CST = (UT - 6 hours)
CDT = (EDT - 1 hour) = (UT - 5 hours)
PST = (UT - 8 hours)
PDT = (UT - 7 hours)
MDT = (UT - 6 hours)
UT [GMT] = (EDT + 4 hours)
BST = (EDT + 5 hours) or (CDT + 6 hours) = (UT + 1 hour)
CEST = (UT + 2 hours) = (BST + 1 hour)
EDT, CDT, PDT, MDT daylight saving time = EST, CST, PST, MST +1hr. From 2007, this begins on the second Sunday in March, and ends on the first Sunday in November.
[Until 2007, EDT, CDT, PDT, MDT used to start at 02:00 local time on the first Sunday in April. EST, CST, PST started at 02:00 local time on the last Sunday in October.]
UT is also known as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), Z, and UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). It is the time set on the International Space Station.
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