Endeavour is chasing the International Space Station with heavy cargo aboard, and the crew is checking out the Orbiter’s heat shield. Docking is scheduled for tomorrow at 5:04PM EST. Mission managers are investigating two debris trails spotted after last night’s launch. NASA reports:
Post-launch Press Conference
Image above: Commander Chris Ferguson (left), Mission Specialist Shane Kimbrough (center) and Pilot Eric Boe work on the aft flight deck of space shuttle Endeavour. Photo credit: NASA TV
› Submit your comments on STS-126NASA senior managers expressed their satisfaction with space shuttle Endeavour’s successful launch during a briefing after the liftoff.
“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.
Launch pics and video at KSC, Houston Chronicle, Orlando Sentinel, Fla Today, and AP. Discussion here. Status Report #2 here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.