T-(time) used in the rightmost column is time remaining until launch holds included as L-(time) given in the grey-hued column is time remaining until launch holds not included. A poll points to a special procedure used during countdowns. Decisions about countdown and launch are based on a poll process where NASA launches officers takes the advice of other members of the launch team
The STS-127 Space Shuttle mission is a mission to the ISS, where the astronauts will install the last elements of the Japanese 'Kibo' module. The liftoff is scheduled for 6:03 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009, from the launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. The weather had prompted postponements on the previous Saturday, Sunday and Monday
| Time EDT | L-(time) | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 11:38 a.m. | L-06:25 | clock is in a planned hold at T-3 hours. Endeavour's External Tank has been filled with about 535,000 gallons of super-cold propellants, the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for the three main engines |
| 12:30 p.m. | L-05:33 | the meteorologists are surveying the weather at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, as they give a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time |
| 12:36 p.m. | L-05:27 | weather, as for now, is red as cumulus clouds and lightning in the area violate rules. Forecasters hope the poor weather will either dissipate or move inland and out of the way |
| 12:42 p.m. | L-05:21 | the Closeout Crew and Final Inspection Team are performing their well-choreographed at Launch Pad 39A in preparation for liftoff. The Closeout Crew will help the astronauts climb aboard Endeavour and get situated for launch, close the hatch and conduct leak checks before departing the pad. The members of that team are dressed in white coveralls. The Final Inspection Team is in charge of the outside of the launch's stack. They are studying Endeavour, the solid rocket boosters and external tank for large chunks of ice or other debris on or near the stack. The members of that teams wear orange coveralls. Weather conditions keep being red as we are still in the T-3 hr planned hold |
| 1:06 p.m. | L-04:57 | after a breakfast and lunch earlier today the mission crewmembers will be given a detailed weather briefing in about 30 minutes. They'll walk over to the suit-up room in the Operations & Checkout Building to get into the partial pressure suits for launch. They are due at Launch Pad 39A just before 3 p.m. |
| 1:12 p.m. | L-04:51 | as the Final Inspection Team is performing its survey, rain is now falling |
| 1:36 p.m. | L-04:27 | mission's commander Mark Polansky, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialist Julie Payette, the flight engineer, are getting a detailed review of current weather conditions and what is expected at launch time today. Liftoff keeps being on schedule for a launch by 6:03 p.m. |
| 1:47 p.m. | L-04:16 | rain keeping to drench the launch pad and weather keeps not acceptable for launch. Meteorologists expect the clouds and rain to either dissipate or move out of the area by launch time this evening |
| 1:50 p.m. | L-04:13 | Endeavour's seven astronauts are dressing for launch at the Operations & Checkout Building at the KSC, donning the familiar bright-orange partial launch-and-entry pressure suits that are designed and equipped to help astronauts in the event of an emergency. The suit includes a helmet and gloves that, when locked into place, seal the suit |
| 2:02 p.m. | L-04:01 | the Phase II lightning warning at the Launch Pad 39A area has been lifted |
| 2:08 p.m. | L-03:55 | the launch team has restarted the countdown clock after the T-3 hr built-in hold. Next one is scheduled for T-20 minutes. No technical problems have cropped up as weather conditions would still not allow a launch as of now |
| 2:14 p.m. | L-03:49 | crew has boarded the Astrovan, a modified Airstream motor home as they are riding less than half an hour from the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Operations & Checkout Building to reach the launch pad 39A |
| 2:27 p.m. | L-03:36 | Space Shuttle Weather Office Kathy Winters advised the launch team that the weather condition at Kennedy is improving, although several factors are currently violating launch rules. She said the storms now in the area should move west by launch time and leave the sky clear. The shuttle is showing no technical issues as launch keeps on schedule for 6:03 p.m. |
| 2:31 p.m. | L-03:32 | the crew of STS-127 reached the launch pad and the astronauts are now heading up the elevator to the Orbiter Access Arm and its white room, where reaching out to Endeavour's hatch and boarding one by one. The White Room, is the enclosed area where the astronauts get ready to board the shuttle |
| 2:36 p.m. | L-03:27 | the STS-127 commander is settling into the left-hand seat at the front of the shuttle's flight deck. Because the shuttle is on its tail, the crew has to pull their legs up over their heads to get into position. The cockpit is set up so that the back wall of the crew compartment is strong enough to act as a floor for the technicians and astronauts as they get into position. |
| 2:39 p.m. | L-03:25 | further STS-127 crewmembers keep installing into the orbiter's flight deck, with the pilot, for that mission, getting in in the third position and occupying the right-hand seat of the flight deck. Some of the crewmembers are installed in the orbiter's middeck. All crew are donning their black communications carrier, also known as the 'Snoopy hat'. Due to the previous launches having been delayed, that constitued the third suit-up and installment in the orbiter for the crew |
| 3:18 p.m. | L-02:46 | the pre-launch Mission Management Team is going to discuss an issue with one of Endeavour's fuel cells as engineers in Houston had test data based on Monday’s launch attempt that indicated fuel cell No. 3 could have a problem that wouldn’t allow it to operate at a low power level when Endeavour is plugged into the ISS solar arrays to augment shuttle power via the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS). That would mean the fuel cell would use more oxygen and hydrogen reactants inside the cell than planned, affecting the overall mission duration. The Space Shuttle's fuel cells generate power by combining oxygen and hydrogen. The question should not be a problem as the device passed testing earlier today |
| 3:23 p.m. | L-02:41 | the last astronaut of the mission eventually boards in the orbiter. For this flight, it is the Canadian astronaut, Julie Payette who is serving as the flight engineer. As such she sits on the flight deck behind and between the commander and pilot whence she will be aiding them during launch and help them follow milestones during the climb to the orbit |
| 3:29 p.m. | L-02:35 | current storms in the area are dying out as expected, but Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters has called attention to a cloud formation to the northeast that could develop into anvil clouds affecting the launch area in the coming hours. Countdown is now at T-1 hour, 39 minutes and counting |
| 3:43 p.m. | L-02:21 | the crew, which has installed into the flight decks are now to work through detailed checklists before launch. It is now conducting communications checks with launch controllers at the Kennedy Space Center, and mission control in Houston. The Closeout Crew is now working through its processes outside the orbiter before closing the shuttle's hatch |
| 3:51 p.m. | L-02:13 | the Close Crew team has now closed Endeavour's hatch and locked it. The crew can still open it quickly from the inside in case of a emergency. Next to come for the Close Crew team is a series of leak checks on the hatch. |
| 3:55 p.m. | L-02:09 | Chief Astronaut Steve Lindsey is flying a NASA T-38 jet in the vicinity of the Kennedy Space Center for a weather recon, evaluating the atmospheric conditions first-hand. Later, he will fly a Shuttle Training Aircraft to study conditions and advise Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky what to expect |
| 4:02 p.m. | L-02:02 | at by about two hours from the preferred launch time of 6:03 p.m., no technical issues are extant. The weather in the Cape Canaveral area however is remaining unsettled. Forecasters are hopeful that the poor weather will not linger around long enough to force another postponement of the launch |
| 4:15 p.m. | L-01:49 | the hatch of Endeavour passed its leak checks. Launch preparations keeps being on schedule towards the scheduled launch time. The Closeout Crew is now to set up the white room for launch and then leave the pad |
| 4:19 p.m. | L-01:45 | weather has improved enough that forecasters have lifted the 'no-go' status on several flight rules. There is still one violation, however, involving an anvil cloud in the area. There is still time for the conditions to improve before launch |
| 4:32 p.m. | L-01:32 | the launch team, in the firing rooms, are keeping in touch between them and with the mission's crewmembers or the teams at the launch pad through a number of audio channels they call 'the loops' |
| 4:36 p.m. | L-01:28 | there are no more launch violations now. Weather is green as the launch keeps being scheduled for 6:03 p.m. |
| 4:48 p.m. | L-01:16 | T-20 minutes and holding. During that planned hold, the countdown clock has paused for 10 minutes. Weather is improving and the launch team is not working any technical issues |
| 4:59 p.m. | L-01:05 | countdown resuming! T-20 minutes and counting as the countdown is back to winding down. Another, last built-in hold is planned at T-9 minutes |
| 5:04 p.m. | L-01:00 | 1 hour to launch now! Weather continues to show improvement and no technical issues have developed |
| 5:10 p.m. | L-:54 | the T-9 minutes hold now occurring. That final built-in hold has the countdown pausing during 45 minutes to set up everything for the last run to liftoff. The launch team, mission control and the mission management team will conduct their last readiness polls during this hold. The clock is to resume at 5:54 p.m. for a launch at the preferred time of 6:03 p.m. |
| 5:17 p.m. | L-:47 | forecasters have increased the odds of acceptable weather conditions at launch time, standing now at 80 percent chance of good weather at liftoff, up from 60 percent earlier |
| 5:22 p.m. | L-:42 | a 'preferred time' for a Space Shuttle mission's launch is the optimum time lying in the middle of the launch window. The launch window today is of 10 minutes, when the launch pad at Kennedy is 'in-plane' with the ISS. That is allowing the launch stack not to use as much of its fuel during the climb into space to catch the station on time |
| 5:39 p.m. | L-:25 | the prelaunch Mission Management Team (MMT) conducted its readiness poll and its Chairman will relay that to the STS-127 Launch Director during the launch director's final readiness poll. Liftoff is on schedule for 6:03 p.m. |
| 5:41 p.m. | L-:23 | after that today mostly was rainy, forecasters now predict a better than 90 percent chance of acceptable weather at launch time |
| 5:50 p.m. | L-:14 | the Launch Director is now polling the launch team and the crew for the final go/ no-go decision which will clear Endeavour for liftoff at 6:03 p.m. There are no technical issues and the weather is holding steady NASA’s mission management team has given its unanimous approval for launch |
| 5:52 p.m. | L-:12 | Endeavour go for launch! The polling is over and the decision taken to launch. The decision is made known to the astronauts in the flightdecks |
| 5:54 p.m. | L-:09 | T- 9 minutes and counting! The countdown is resuming on time, with good weather and no technical issues |
| 5:55 p.m. | L-:08 | the Ground Launch Sequencer is now running the countdown! |
| 5:56 p.m. | L-:07 | the orbiter access arm, with the white room at the end, is swinging away from Endeavour. The arm can be moved back into position quickly if it is needed |
| 5:57 p.m. | L-:06 | the shuttle's computers and systems spring into operation, including the auxiliary power units and fuel cells |
| 5:58 p.m. | L-:05 | the launch stack is now going through a series of automated tests in the last few minutes to make sure its control surfaces, engines and other systems are working right |
| 6:01 p.m. | L-:02 | the vent arm that captures evaporating oxygen off the top of the external tank moves away from the tank |
| 6:02 p.m. | L-:01 | the astronauts have closed and locked their visors for liftoff. All systems are go! |
| 6:02:29 p.m. | L-:00:31 | onboard computers take control of the countdown now |
| 6:03:14 p.m. | L-:00:06 | main engine ignition! The three liquid-fueled engines at the back of the orbiter proper are roaring to life, building up pressure. Six seconds to liftoff! |
| 6:03:26 p.m. | liftoff | the Space Shuttle STS-127 mission is now taking off! Eight large bolts, which holded the shuttle stack to the pad have split at T-0 point, the solid rocket boosters ignited and the gaseous hydrogen vent arm fell away from the tank. Some 7 million pounds of thrust makes the shuttle clearing the tower 7 seconds after liftoff and reaching 100 mph |
| into the flight | ||
| 6:05 p.m. | 01:34 | the launch stack has rolled into a heads-down position. All the Space Shuttle systems are working fine. |
| 6:06 p.m. | 02:34 | booster separation! The twin solid rocket boosters have burned out and fallen away and Endeavour is now flying on the sole strength of its three liquid-fueled engines! |
| 6:09 p.m. | 05:34 | negative return! The Space Shuttle now is too far away and going too fast to return to the Kennedy Space Center in case of a emergency. All systems are go and the main engines are working fine |
| 6:10 p.m. | 06:34 | six minutes after launch, the orbiter now is reaching a speed of 8,300 mph |
| 6:12 p.m. | 08:34 | MECO! Main Engine Cutoff! The orbiter' main engines are cut off. The shuttle is short of orbital speed, running at 17,000 mph and on a elliptical orbit |
| 6:13 p.m. | 09:34 | the External Tank has been jettisoned; after 45 mn of coasting, the shuttle will fire two small Orbital Maneuvering System engines during two minutes, which will give the final nudge to orbit, raising the perigee of the current orbit. From there, the orbiter is to spent two days in orbit before reaching the ISS |
