STS-127

STS-127

Canadarm2 grapples the exposed facility of Kibō, prior to its installation on the ISS
Names	Space Transportation System-127
Mission type	ISS assembly
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	2009-038A
SATCAT no.	35633
Mission duration	15 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes, 58 seconds
Distance travelled	10,537,748 kilometres (6,547,853 mi)
Orbits completed	248[1]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Endeavour
Crew
Crew size	7
Members	Mark L. Polansky Douglas G. Hurley Christopher J. Cassidy Julie Payette Thomas H. Marshburn David Wolf
Launching	Timothy Kopra
Landing	Koichi Wakata
Start of mission
Launch date	July 15, 2009, 22:03 (2009-07-15UTC22:03Z) UTC
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Landing date	July 31, 2009, 14:48 (2009-07-31UTC14:49Z) UTC
Landing site	Kennedy SLF Runway 15
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	344 kilometres (214 mi)[2]
Apogee altitude	351 kilometres (218 mi)[2]
Inclination	51.6 degrees[1][2]
Period	91.48 minutes[2]
Epoch	July 18, 2009[2]
Docking with ISS
Docking port	PMA-2 (Harmony forward)
Docking date	July 17, 2009 17:47 UTC
Undocking date	July 28, 2009 17:26 UTC
Time docked	10 days, 23 hours, 41 minutes
From left to right: Wolf, Cassidy, Hurley, Payette, Polansky, Marshburn, and Kopra Space Shuttle program ← STS-125 STS-128 →

STS-127 (ISS assembly flight 2J/A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS).^[1] It was the twenty-third flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. The primary purpose of the STS-127 mission was to deliver and install the final two components of the Japanese Experiment Module: the Exposed Facility (JEM EF), and the Exposed Section of the Experiment Logistics Module (ELM-ES).^{[3][NASA 1]} When Endeavour docked with the ISS on this mission in July 2009, it set a record for the most humans in space at the same time in the same vehicle, the first time thirteen people have been at the station at the same time.^[4] Together they represented all ISS program partners^[5] and tied the general record of thirteen people in space with the first such occurrence of 1995.^[6]

The first launch attempt, on June 13, 2009, was scrubbed due to a gaseous hydrogen leak observed during tanking.^[7][8] The Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) on the external fuel tank experienced a potentially hazardous hydrogen gas leak similar to the fault that delayed the Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-119 in March 2009. Since a launch date of June 18, 2009, would have conflicted with the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), NASA managers discussed the scheduling conflict with both the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project and the Air Force Eastern Range, which provides tracking support for rockets launched from Florida.^[9][10] A decision was made to allow the shuttle to attempt a second launch on June 17, 2009, allowing LRO to launch on June 18, 2009.^[8]

The second launch attempt on June 17, 2009, was also scrubbed due to hydrogen leak issues seen from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate.^[11] Due to conflicts with the launch of the LRO, and due to a beta angle constraint, the next available launch opportunity was scheduled for July 11, 2009.^{[NASA 2][12]} A successful tanking test for leak checks was performed on July 1, 2009, with modified GUCP seals allowing launch preparations to proceed as scheduled.^[13] Because of lightning strikes near the launch pad during the evening of July 10, 2009, NASA scrubbed the launch for the third time and rescheduled for July 12, 2009.^[14] Due to a Return To Launch Site (RTLS) weather violation, NASA scrubbed the launch for the fourth time on the evening of July 12, 2009.

STS-127's fifth launch attempt, on July 13, 2009, was also scrubbed due to anvil clouds and lightning within 10 nautical miles (19 km) of the launch site, which violated launch safety rules. STS-127 finally launched successfully on its sixth launch attempt, on July 15, 2009, at 18:03 EDT. Pieces of foam were observed falling off of the External Tank during the ascent, the same occurrence that had led to the loss of Columbia in 2003. However, Endeavour received only minor scuffs to its heat shield, the damage not enough to cause concern over reentry.^[15] The shuttle landed at Kennedy Space Center 16 days later at 10:48 EDT on July 31, 2009.

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