It was one small sip for man and one giant gulp for mankind. On Wednesday evening, astronauts took a ceremonial first drink from the space station’s newly approved purification system.

NASA’s Mission Control gave the Expedition 19 astronaut crew aboard the International Space Station a “go” to drink water that the station’s new recycling system has purified.

Mission Control radioed the news to the crew Wednesday, following a report from the Water Recovery System team that station program managers approved. The decision is an important milestone in the development of the station’s environmental and life support systems, which will begin supporting six-person crews at the end of May.

Expedition 19 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Koichi Wakata celebrated the decision with a toast in the Destiny laboratory.

“This has been the stuff of science fiction. Everybody’s talked about recycling water in a closed loop system, but nobody’s ever done it before. Here we are today with the first round of recycled water,” said Barratt. “We’re really happy for this day and for the team that put this together. This is the kind of technology that will get us to the moon and further.”

“This is an important milestone in the development of the space station,” said Kirk Shireman, International Space Station deputy program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “This system will reduce the amount of water we must launch to the station once the shuttle retires and also test out a key technology required for sending humans on long duration missions to the moon and Mars.”

Space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-126 mission delivered the Water Recovery System to the station in November 2008. Mission Specialist Don Pettit and Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke installed the equipment before Endeavour’s departure. The system has been processing urine into purified water since shuttle Discovery’s STS-119 crew delivered and installed a replacement Urine Processing Assembly in March. The system is tied into the station’s Waste and Hygiene Compartment toilet and recovers and recycles moisture from the station’s atmosphere.

The crews of STS-126, Expedition 18 and STS-119 returned samples of the recycled water to Earth. A total of 5.28 gallons (20 liters) of recycled water were tested for purity at the Water and Microbiology Laboratories at Johnson. A special Space Station Program Control Board meeting on April 27 reviewed the analysis, which showed contaminants were well below established limits, and concurred that the water is safe and healthy to drink. Mission managers elected to postpone consumption until a sticky check valve in the Urine Processing Assembly was removed May 18.

Space station crews will monitor the purity of the recycled water with on-board equipment and periodically send down samples for testing on Earth.

By Marc S. Posner
SOAR Magazine

Like thousands of Americans, the crew of STS-126 wrapped up the Thanksgiving weekend with a couple of delays and a major diversion before finally returning home. Unlike typical holiday travelers, Endeavour covered more than six-and-a-half million miles and circled the globe 250 times.

Endeavour touched down on a 12,000-foot temporary runway in California’s Mojave Desert at 1:24 p.m. local time concluding a mission that featured an “extreme makeover” of the International Space Station. The mission also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the space station on Nov. 20.

Crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, were awakened at 4:55 a.m. EST by the Rocky Theme, “Gonna Fly Now,” performed by Bill Conti. It was for Ferguson.

“Happy wheel stop, Endeavour,” Capcom Alan Poindexter radioed to Ferguson. “That was a great way to end a fantastic flight, Fergie.”

“We’re happy to be here in California,” replied Ferguson.

NASA managers declined two landing opportunities in Florida and then determined that tomorrow’s weather prospects at Kennedy Space Center were also not likely to provide a return trip home. Having already extended the mission a day, NASA instead decided to send Endeavour to sunny Southern California, where the high-60s-degree weather was described as a dream.

“I think you made a good call,” STS-126 Commander Chris Ferguson told Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston as Endeavour’s crew observed Florida from space about a half hour prior to firing its rockets for 2 minutes, 54 seconds to slow Endeavor out of its orbit, beginning the fiery ride back home.

During the 16-day mission, the shuttle and station crews collaborated on the delivery of key life support and habitability systems that will enable long-term, self-sustaining station operations after the shuttle fleet is retired.

Endeavour arrived at the station Nov. 16, delivering equipment that will help allow the station to double its crew size to six. A second bathroom was also added to the space station as was new exercise equipment.

Four spacewalks were conducted to service and lubricate the complex’s two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints that allow the station’s photovoltaic cells to revolve like paddlewheels and point at the sun. The starboard joint has had limited use since September 2007. The spacewalkers also installed a new nitrogen tank, a global positioning system, antenna, and a camera on the station’s Integrated Truss Assembly.

In addition, the STS-126 astronauts delivered Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, who replaced Chamitoff, who returned as a mission specialist for the return to Earth aboard Endeavour. Chamitoff spent more than six months aboard the station.

On Saturday, in preparation for landing, Endeavour’s crew tested the ship’s flight control surfaces and reaction control system thrusters. Both systems functioned well and are ready to support entry activities. After the checkout, Mission Specialist Don Pettit reported seeing an object drifting away from the orbiter. But, Flight Director Bryan Lunney said the object appears to have been a temperature/pressure label from the payload bay and does not present a risk to the vehicle.

The crew also deployed a small satellite designed to test space environment effects on new solar cell technologies. The Picosat satellite was deployed at 2:34 p.m. while the shuttle was over the southern Pacific Ocean. It will remain in orbit for several months.

Endeavour landed on Runway 04, a 12,000-foot long, 200-foot wide asphault strip that is both shorter and narrower than the primary runway, Runway 22, at Edwards Air Force Base. Runway 22 has been undergoing renovation and NASA opted against using it, even though it was technically ready.

STS-126 was the 124th space shuttle flight, the 27th flight to the station, the 22nd flight for Endeavour and the fourth flight in 2008.

By Marc S. Posner

SOAR Magazine

Space shuttle Endeavour is coming home to California this afternoon, as mission managers have given the go for the STS-126 Commander Chris Ferguson to fire the shuttle’s thrusters minutes from now, placing Endeavour on a return path to the Southern California desert for a 1:25 p.m. PDT landing.

“Endeavour, Houston. You are go for deorbit burn,” Capcom Alan Poindexter radioed to Ferguson, who will ignite the twin orbital maneuvering system thrusters at 12:19 p.m.

Flying the shuttle training craft over the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, astronaut Pam Melroy reported clear blue skies. Temperatures are projected to be 66 degrees at landing time.

The weather in Florida is so bad, even the crew recognized that landing there today wouldn’t be a good idea.

“I think you made a good call,” Ferguson told Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston as Endeavour’s crew observed Florida from space prior to the OK for deorbit burn. High crosswinds and thunderstorms were developing in Florida as a weather front approached the prime landing location at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

In California, Endeavour will be landing on a temporary runway, running parallel to the primary landing strip, Runway 22, which is closed for upgrades.

NASA is planning on bringing Endeavour home to Southern California, pressing for the first landing opportunity, at 1:25 p.m. PST.

Endeavour should cross the California coast near Santa Monica, providing its trademark double sonic boom to the greater Los Angeles area.

Mission managers have passed on both landing opportunities at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center today, meaning that Endeavour and her crew will either conclude STS-126 today in Southern California or spend another day in orbit.

There are two Sunday opportunities to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The first, on orbit 250, would see a deorbit burn at 12:20 p.m. PST, and a landing at 1:25 p.m. For the second, on orbit 251, the deorbit burn would be at 1:57 p.m. and the landing at 3 p.m. 

Weather conditions at Edwards would appear to be favorable for a landing today, according to AccuWeather. Winds, the most common concern at the desert landing strip, are projected to not be a factor until after the second landing opportunity.

Endeavour is winding up a mission that included more than 11 days at the International Space Station. It delivered equipment to help future expansion of the station crew from three to six persons. During four spacewalks, Endeavour astronauts cleaned, lubricated and installed new bearing assemblies in the starboard solar alpha rotary joint. The mission also took Expedition 18 flight engineer Sandra Magnus to the station and is bringing Greg Chamitoff home after six months in space.

It’s arrival day. The space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station a little after 5 p.m. EST.

The seven members of shuttle Endeavour’s crew, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus, were awakened at 9:25 a.m. EST for rendezvous and docking day. The wakeup music was “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones.

The primary objective of the crew’s 15-day mission is to prepare the station to accommodate six members for long-duration stays. In addition, traveling with STS-126 is a new Expedition 18 crew member, astronaut Sandra Magnus, who will replace Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff.

Today’s major events include:

• Rendezvous with station
• Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver photography by the Expedition 18 crew
• Docking to Harmony/Pressurized Mating Adapter 2
• Hatch opening and welcome
• Crew exchange of Magnus for Chamitoff
• OBSS handoff from Canadarm2 to the shuttle robotic arm

NASA senior managers expressed their satisfaction with space shuttle Endeavour’s successful launch during a briefing after the liftoff of STS-126.

“It was a great launch and a great team,” said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.

NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations William Gerstenmaier talked about the enormous volume of work the Kennedy Space Center team had to deal with to get Atlantis rolled back, Endeavour rolled around and readied for launch, in addition to handling the incoming Ares rocket segments for the upcoming test flight next year.

Gerstenmaier thanked the Kennedy team “for giving us such a great launch.” Even the moon cooperated by adding a beautiful backdrop to an awesome launch.

Mission Management Team Chair LeRoy Cain said, “We’re off to a great start on what’s going to be an extremely complex and challenging mission.”

NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach remarked how pleased he is to celebrate Endeavour’s launch, although a minor issue arose during the last few minutes of the countdown. A door in the White Room was found to be unpinned, but after discussion with the launch team confirming that it would not affect the safety of the shuttle, the countdown resumed.

“It was a great count and I was very, very impressed with the launch team,” said Leinbach.

NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson commands the seven-member crew, which includes Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Steve Bowen, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus.

In Endeavour’s payload bay, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo is packed full of about 14,500 pounds of equipment and supplies, making it one of the heaviest modules in shuttle history.

Also included in the payload, are additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, an exercise device and other household-type equipment.

The prime objective of the 15-day mission is to prepare the International Space Station to accommodate six members for long-duration stays.

Four planned spacewalks will focus on servicing the station’s two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, or SARJ, which are needed to track the sun for electric power.

Endeavour and its crew are set to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after more than two weeks in space.

Liftoff of Endeavour remains on schedule for 7:55 p.m., EST, Friday. The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions and the launch team reports no technical issues.

The flight of space shuttle Endeavour includes several significant steps to install new crew equipment inside the International Space Station and service the solar array joints of the laboratory. During STS-126, the crew of space shuttle Endeavour and the space station will:

– Exchange crew members. Sandra Magnus will swap places with current station resident Greg Chamitoff.

– Conduct four spacewalks. Working in teams of two, astronauts will emerge from the space station’s Quest airlock and work on the two large joints that turn the station’s massive solar array “wings.” They are to service the starboard side joint and perform preventative maintenance on the port side joint.

– Install new crew quarters, a galley, waste water recycling system and oxygen generator inside the space station. The equipment has been packed inside refrigerator-sized racks that require forklifts to lift them on Earth. But in space, a single astronaut can move a rack around with little problem.

Endeavour and its crew are to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 15 days in space.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Endeavour is set for launch on Friday for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. Commander Chris Ferguson and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:55 p.m. EST.

Endeavour’s STS-126 flight will feature important repair work to the station and prepare it for housing six crew members during long-duration missions. The primary focus of the 15-day flight and its four planned spacewalks is to service the station’s two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun. Endeavour will carry about 32,000 pounds to orbit, including supplies and equipment necessary to double the crew size from three to six members in spring 2009. The new station cargo includes additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet and a resistance exercise device.

Ferguson will be joined on STS-126 by Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus will replace space station crew member Greg Chamitoff, who has been aboard the station for more than five months. She will return to Earth during the next shuttle mission, STS-119, targeted to launch in February 2009.

The mission comes as Atlantis’ STS-125 Hubble Space Telescope servicing flight, originally set for last month, was put on hold when Tropical Storm Fay closed the Kennedy Space Center. Serendipitously, during that delay, a data recorder aboard the Hubble failed. Mission managers opted to push back Atlantis’ mission to allow for a spare part to be added to the repair checklist.

The end is in sight for NASA’s 28-year-old space shuttle program as the agency today announced that it has set launch dates for all ten of the remaining flights.

If the schedule holds, Endeavour — NASA’S newest orbiter — will make the 35th mission to the International Space Station to bring the program to a close in June, 2010. It will be the 25th flight for Endeavour, which was built to replace Challenger, the orbiter that exploded during a 1986 launch attempt.

President Bush called for an end to the shuttle program following the destruction of Columbia during re-entry in 2003. The shuttles, which also include Discovery and Atlantis, are to be replaced by a more traditional rocket as part of NASA’s Constellation program.

Eight shuttle missions received launch dates following a detailed, integrated assessment by NASA. The missions will fly in 2009 and 2010. Rounding out the remaining 10 flights are two which are slated for later this year, including the lone flight not scheduled for docking at the International Space Station.

The current launch manifest manifest includes a flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, seven assembly flights to the International Space Station, and two station contingency flights, planned to be completed before the end of fiscal year 2010. The agency previously selected Oct. 8 and Nov. 10 as launch dates for Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to service Hubble and Endeavour’s STS-126 / ULF-2 mission to supply the space station and service both Solar Alpha Rotary Joints on the port and starboard end of its truss backbone that supports equipment and solar arrays.

The approved target dates are subject to change based on processing and other launch vehicle schedules. They reflect the agency’s commitment to complete assembly of the station and to retire the shuttle fleet as transition continues to the new launch vehicles, including Ares and Orion.

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2009

Feb. 12 — Discovery (STS-119 / 15A) will kick off a five-flight 2009 with its 36th mission to deliver the final pair of U.S. solar arrays to be installed on the starboard end of the station’s truss. The truss serves as the backbone support for external equipment and spare components, including the Mobile Base System. Lee Archambault will command the 14-day flight that will include four planned spacewalks. Joining him will be pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Joseph Acaba, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Sandy Magnus on the station as a flight engineer. STS-119 marks the 28th shuttle flight to the station.

May 15 — Endeavour (STS-127 / 2JA) sets sail on its 23rd mission with the Japanese Kibo Laboratory’s Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, the final permanent components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s contribution to the station program. During the 15-day mission, Endeavour’s crew will perform five spacewalks and deliver six new batteries for the P6 truss, a spare drive unit for the Mobile Transporter and a spare boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna. Mark Polansky will be Endeavour’s commander with Doug Hurley as pilot. Mission specialists will be Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will become a station flight engineer replacing Koichi Wakata, who will return home with the STS-127 crew. It will be the 29th shuttle flight to the station.

July 30 — Atlantis (STS-128 / 17A) launches on its 31st flight, an 11-day mission carrying science and storage racks to the station. In the payload bay will be a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module holding science and storage racks. Three spacewalks are planned to remove and replace a materials processing experiment outside the European Space Agency’s Columbus module and return an empty ammonia tank assembly. The mission includes the rotation of astronaut Nicole Stott for Tim Kopra, who will return to Earth with the shuttle crew. The remaining crew members have yet to be named. STS-128 marks the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and outfitting.

Oct. 15 — Discovery’s (STS-129 / ULF-3) 37th mission will focus on staging spare components outside the station. The 15-day flight includes at least three spacewalks. The payload bay will carry two large External Logistics Carriers holding two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly, a spare latching end effector for the station’s robotic arm, a spare trailing umbilical system for the Mobile Transporter and a high-pressure gas tank. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will return home aboard Discovery with its crew, which has yet to be named. STS-129 marks the 31st shuttle mission devoted to station assembly.

Dec. 10 — Endeavour (STS-130 / 20A) will close 2009 with its 24th mission to deliver the final connecting node, Node 3, and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the station. At least three spacewalks are planned during the 11-day mission. The 32nd station assembly mission by a shuttle does not yet have a crew named.

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2010

Feb. 11 — Atlantis (STS-131 / 19A) begins its 32nd mission as the first flight in 2010, carrying a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of the station. The 11-day mission will include at least three spacewalks to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly outside the station and return a European experiment that has been outside the Columbus module. It will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station. The crew has yet to be named.

April 8 — Discovery’s (STS-132 / ULF-4) 38th mission will carry an integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the bottom port of the Zarya module. The Russian module also will carry U.S. pressurized cargo. The first Russian Mini Research Module to go to the station is scheduled to launch on a Russian rocket in the summer of 2009.

Additionally, at least three spacewalks are planned to stage spare components outside the station, including six spare batteries, a boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna and spares for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm extension. A radiator, airlock and European robotic arm for the Russian Multi-purpose Laboratory Module also are payloads on the flight. The laboratory module is scheduled for launch on a Russian rocket in 2011. The mission marks the 34th mission to the station. The STS-132 crew has yet to be named.

May 31 — Endeavour’s (STS-133 / ULF-5) 25th mission will carry critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the station. Those will include two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for Dextre and micrometeoroid debris shields. At least three spacewalks are planned to be carried out by the crew, which has yet to be named. The 15-day mission will be the 35th to the station.

SOAR Magazine’s Marc S. Posner contributed to this report.