Scott J. Kelly

(Second Space Flight)
     
Charles O. Hobaugh
(First Space Flight) Mission Specialist 1:
Tracy E. Caldwell
(Second Space Flight) Mission Specialist 2:
Richard A. Mastracchio
(Second Space Flight) Mission Specialist 3:
Dafydd R. Williams, CSA
(First Space Flight) Mission Specialist 4:
Barbara R. Morgan
(First Space Flight) Mission Specialist 5:
B. Alvin Drew
(Second Space Flight)





























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Pages within this section: USA Shuttle Mission Flights

STS-118

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STS-118
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Prior to Challenger
Commander Scott J. Kelly
Second spaceflight
Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh
Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 Scott E. Parazynski
Fifth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Lisa M. Nowak
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3 Dafydd R. Williams, CSA
Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 4 Barbara R. Morgan
First spaceflight
Parazynski was assigned to STS-120 and Nowak was assigned to STS-121.
STS-118 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by the orbiter Endeavour. STS-118 lifted off on 8 August 2007 from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC on 21 August 2007.

This was the first flight of Endeavour since STS-113 in November 2002, which was also the last successful shuttle flight before STS-107 which culminated in the loss of Columbia when it disintegrated during reentry. STS-118 pilot Charles Hobaugh had been the entry team CAPCOM for STS-107. Columbia had originally been selected for this flight, for what would have been its 29th mission, and its first and likely only visit to the ISS, mainly due to its heavier weight.

The mission is also referred to as ISS-13A.1 by the ISS program. The mission added two more components to the ISS and brought supplies for its crew.

During and after the mission, the media focused heavily on a small puncture in the heat shield, created by a piece of insulation foam that came off the external tank during liftoff, though the foam impact that ultimately destroyed Columbia caused more damage and was in a critical area. KSC Launch Director Michael D. Leinbach mentioned in the post-flight news conference that upon initial inspection on the ground, "Endeavour appears to be the 'cleanest' post-flight orbiter since Return to Flight". On 31 August 2007, NASA reported that the damaged tiles had been removed in the Orbiter Processing Facility, and engineers had found no evidence of heat-related damage to the orbiter itself.
The STS-118 mission delivered and assembled the starboard S5 truss segment of the International Space Station, as well as External Stowage Platform 3, (ESP-3) and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG). The mission was also the final flight to include the Spacehab Logistics Single Module.

The Spacehab Logistics Single Module, a pressurized aluminum habitat that is carried inside the payload bay, has a capacity of 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg), and carried a variety of cargo and research projects, including supply materials for the ISS. It returned cargo, including the MISSE PEC 3 & 4, a Department of Defense payload that had been installed on the ISS. Launched in July 2006, the MISSE PEC-3 and 4 contained over 850 materials specimens that will be studied to determine the effects of long-term exposure to the environment of space.
Endeavour rendezvous with the ISS
From top to bottom: Orbiter docking system, Spacehab, S5 truss, ESP-3. The CMG is the globe bottom left.