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Update 3 STS-128 launch ascent flight control team video replay:

Update 2

Viewed from the Banana River Viewing Site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery arcs through a cloud-brushed sky, lighted by the trail of fire after launch on the STS-128 mission - Photo Credit: NASA/Ben Cooper

Update 1: NASA Kennedy YouTube channel now has the launch video in SD.

Discovery's External Tank with the Moon in the background - Image Source: NASA TV

03:59:06 UTC @ T-00:31 – Auto-sequence start. Discovery’s on-board computers have primary control of all vehicle’s critical functions.

03:59:22 UTC @ T-00:15 – The Sound Suppression Water System has been activated to protect Discovery and the launch pad from acoustical energy and rocket exhaust reflected from the flame trench and Mobile Launcher Platform during launch.

Sound Suppression Water System has been activated - Source: NASA TV

03:59:28 UTC @ T-00:09 – The hydrogen burn-off system begins to eliminate free hydrogen exhausted into the main engine nozzles during the start sequence to prevent small, but potentially dangerous, explosions when the main engines ignite.

The hydrogen burn-off system activated - Source: NASA TV

03:59:30 UTC @ T-00:06.6 (and 06.48, 06.36) – The three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) start.

Space Shuttle Main Engines start - Source: NASA TV

Solid Rocket Boosters ignition - Source: NASA TV

03:59:37 UTC @ T-00:00 – Lift-off. Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) ignition and lift-off of the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-128 17A mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This is Discovery’s 37th flight overall and the 30th mission to the ISS. The seven crew members of STS-128, commanded by NASA veteran Frederick W. Sturckow (STS-88, STS-105, STS-117), will stay in space 12 days 18 hours and 9 minutes and are scheduled land at the Kennedy Space Center at 23:09 UTC on September 10. Mission Specialists John “Danny” Olivas, Christer Fuglesang and Nicole Stott will combined for total of 19.5 hours during 3 planned spacewalks (EVA) on flight days 5, 7 and 9.

Space Shuttle Discovery liftoff - Source: NASA TV

~04:00:22 UTC @ ~T+00:45 – The shuttle passed Mach 1 while the engines were throttling down before Max-Q (the point of the greatest dynamic pressure)

04:01:40 UTC @ T+02:03 – Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation. Discovery is at the altitude of 45 km, 40 km down range from the KSC, traveling at 5800 km/h (Mach 4).

04:02:07 UTC @ T+02:30 – 2 engine Moron. Discovery can now reach the Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site in Moron in the case of a single engine failure.

04:03:30 UTC @ T+03:53 – Negative Return – Discovery has used too much fuel and is traveling too fast, too high and is too far to return to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for a potential Return To Launch Site (RTLS) abort.

04:04:32 UTC @ T+04:55 – Press to ATO select Istres – Discovery could now reach a safe 195 by 157 km orbit with two Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) throttled at Typical Mission Power Level (104.5%) in case of a single SSME failure. Should one of the engines fail the crew could execute the Abort To Orbit (ATO) maneuver (in case of TAL abort, the landing facility in Istres, France would be used).

04:05:03 UTC @ T+05:26 – Single Engine OPS-3 – Discovery could now reach the designated TAL site with a single engine at Full Power Level (FPL), i.e 109% throttle, should two of the SSME’s fail.

04:05:48 UTC @ T+06:11 – Press to MECO (Main Engine Cut-off) and Single Engine Istres 104 – Discovery can now reach planned orbit in case of a single SSME failure and the Istres TAL site on a single engine at 104.5% throttle.

~04:06:34 UTC @ T+06:57 – Nominal shut down plan. Go for the plus X, no go for the pitch – The shuttle has reach the planned elliptical orbit (before circularization) and no correction by the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) is necessary (OMS-1 not required). After the External Tank (ET) separation (SEP) the orbiter’s Reaction Control System (RCS) will execute a negative Z (in the direction up through the roof) translation maneuver to move the orbiter away from the ET. The “no go for the pitch” refers to the ET Photo maneuver, which is a pitch around of the orbiter that allows the crew to take pictures of the tank out of the overhead windows. Because of the time of the launch, at ET SEP the orbiter will be in the darkness of the Earth’s shadow so ET photography would not yield useful data.

04:06:46 UTC @ T+07:09 – Single engine press 104 – Discovery can now reach planned orbit on a single engine at 104.5% throttle in case of two main engine failure.

04:08:01 UTC @ T+08:24 -  The Main Engine Cut-off (MECO), zero thrust (at T+08:35). Discovery has reach the planned orbit and is schedule to dock with the International Space Station on Flight Day 4.

04:08:01 UTC @ T+08:35 – External Tank (ET) separation.

External Tank separation - Source: NASA TV

~04:09:22 UTC @ T+09:45 – Nominal MECO, OMS-1 not required.

Seated are NASA astronauts Rick Sturckow (right), commander; and Kevin Ford, pilot. From the left (standing) are astronauts Jose Hernandez, John “Danny” Olivas, Nicole Stott, European Space Agency’s Christer Fuglesang and Patrick Forrester - Photo Source: NASA

STS-128 is the first spaceflight for the shuttle pilot Kevin Ford, the flight engineer for launch and landing Jose Hernandez and the flight engineer for Expedition 20 and 21  Nicole Stott who will take the place of Astronaut Time Kopra aboard the station until her return home in November aboard STS-129.

The STS-128 mission will deliver to the station the Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier and the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (Leonardo), whose main purpose is to assist with establishing a six-man crew capacity by providing extra supplies and equipment to the station, and the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) with Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA).

The Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, so named for comedian Stephen Colbert, will be transferred to the station on flight day 5 and set up after Discovery undocks from the station. Stephen Colbert himself, recorded a message for NASA (watch the video below)…

Every mission carries out Detailed Test Objectives (DTO’s). STS-128 has 5 planned DTO’s. One of them, the Boundary Transition Layer, will be the second phase of an experiment commenced on STS-119 in March this year.

Boundary Layer Transition is a process occurring during the shuttle re-entry as the smooth air flow along the shuttle’s heat shield becomes turbulent. The experiment will measure the heat difference between the air flow using sensors (thermometers) installed in particular tiles on the shield. A protuberance tile with a quarter inch (0.9cm) “speed bump” has been installed on Discovery’s heat shield. The tile will intentionally disrupt the smooth air flow and allow data gathering at Mach 18 during the re-entry.

Space Shuttle During Re-Entry - Source: NASA

24/7 coverage of the STS-128 mission will be available on NASA TV. You can also follow the Space Shuttle Discovery and the ISS in real time through NASA’s real time tracking. Information about out about visible ISS passes at your location is available from heavens-above.

The ground track of ISS with its current position - The dashed part of the orbit path shows where the satellite is in the earth's shadow, and the full part is where it is sunlit - Source: Heavens-Above.com

The next mission to the ISS will be STS-129 planned to launch on November 12 at 21:11 UTC. The Space Shuttle Atlantis will deliver two large External Logistics Carriers holding various instruments for the station.

Discovery next flight is scheduled for March 18, 2010. The STS-131 mission (assembly flight 19A) will deliver the the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. The mission will also attach a spare ammonia tank assembly outside the station and return a European experiment that has been outside the Columbus module.

Space shuttle Discovery is poised for liftoff on the STS-128 mission. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

At 22:52 UTC another launch attempt of the Space Shuttle Discovery has been scrubbed after the fill-and-drain valve inside space shuttle Discovery’s aft compartment developed a problem during the External Tank (ET) tanking. STS-128 Flight Director Pete Nikolenko gave the order to stop the taking of ET with liquid hydrogen after the fill-and-drain value failed to close when instructed. The valve is actually two valves in series, one outboard and one inboard. Both need to be closed for the flight, but if they malfunction in the closed state, NASA would not be able to drain the tank (after a scrub or a delay).

Although the next launch windows open on Thursday at 04:42:49 UTC (with preferred launch time at 04:47:49) and on Friday at 04:17:07 UTC (launch targeted for 04:22:07), the date and time of the next launch attempt are currently unknown. NASA engineers need to first gather data and to determine whether there was an actual problem with the valve itself or a faulty indicator was the culprit tonight.

Space Shuttle Discovery on the Launch Pad 39-A as the liquid oxygen starts to flow into the External Tank - Image Source: NASA TV

Update: Despite several launch windows with favorable ISS orbit alignment in the following days, Discovery’s last day to attempt the launch before mid-October is August 31 (at 03:11:21 UTC). Once the August 31 window closes (at 03:16:21 UTC) Discovery wouldn’t be able to undock before the Japanese and Russion missions arrive at the ISS.

Update 4: I’ve replaced the original NASA TV footage below with the official STS-127 launch HD footage.
Update 3: STS-127 launch footage from NASA TV

Update 2: Check out the amazing launch photos from Flying Jenny.

Update 1: 22:11:40 UT – Main Engine Cut-off (MECO)

July 15, 2009 at 22:03:10 UT, after two launch scrubs on June 13 and June 17 due to gaseous hydrogen leak on a vent line near the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, the saturday’s 24-hour delay to allow technical teams additional time to evaluate lightning strikes. and the  July 12 and July 13 scrubs due to unacceptable weather forecast for a possible Return To Launch Site (RTLS) abort, NASA successfully launched the Space Shuttle Endeavour on its its 23rd mission – the 10th to the International Space Station (ISS). Seven crew members of STS-127, commanded by NASA veteran Mark Polansky (STS-98, STS-116), will stay in space 15 days 16 hours and 42 minutes and land at the Kennedy Space Center at 14:45 UTC on July 31. Mission specialists Dave Wolf, Chris Cassidy, Tom Mashburn and Tim Kopra will combine for 31 hours and 45 minutes during 5 planed spacewalks (EVA). Endeavour will dock to the forward docking port at the end of the station’s Harmony module in two days.

Space shuttle Endeavour climbs toward orbit after its liftoff at 22:03 UTC. Photo credit: NASA TV

Space Shuttle Endeavour launch from Kennedy Space Center - Photo Credit: Flying Jenny

Space Shuttle Endeavour launch from KSC - Photo Credit: Flying Jenny

Julie Payette (STS-96) will return to the ISS after 10 years as a mission specialist operating the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) aka Canadarm (Canadarm 1) and the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), better known by its primary component Canadarm2. In a meeting of generations, Julie Payette and Robert Thirsk (55) of Expedition 20, a member of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) committee which selected her from a pool of 5,330 applicants, will be the first two Canadian astronaut in space at the same time.

The crew of STS-127 - Source: NASA

STS-127 will be the first spaceflight for the shuttle pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Christopher Cassidy (who will, based on where he sits on the shuttle, become the 500th person in history to fly into space) , Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra. Mission specialist Dave Wolf has never flown the shuttle but has spent 128 says aboard the Russian space station MIR. Koichi Wakata (STS-119) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will return to Earth and Tim Kopra will join the crew of Expedition 20 as a flight engineer where he will remain until Nicole Stott of STS-128 will take his place.

One of a series of digital still images documenting the Japanese Experiment Module, or JEM, also called Kibo, in its new home on the International Space Station, this view depicts Kibo's exterior, backdropped by solar array panels for the orbital outpost and one of its trusses - Image Credit: NASA

The STS-127 mission will deliver to the station the final 2 modules of the Japanese Kibo (means “hope”) complex where science experiments will be exposed to the extreme environment of space. The first module, the Exposed Facility (EF) is a platform to perform experiments in the vacuum of space and will be attached to the Japanese pressurized module. The other module, the Exposed Section (ES) serves as a carrier for three large payloads which will be mounted to the EF during the mission.

The rest of the payload consists of:

• the Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC-VLD) to provide heater power and electrical connections for the Orbital Replacement Units (ORU’s) and to deliver 9 large spare parts for the exterior of the space station

The Integrated Cargo Carrier configuration flown on STS-127 - Source: NASA

• the Atmosphere Neutral Density Experiment’s (ANDE) two microsatellites to gather data on the density the composition of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) atmosphere
• the Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat) to collect GPS data on autonomous spacecraft rendezvous and docking capabilities, and finally
• the Shuttle carries also a resupply of water, food and oxygen for the station

One of the STS-127 Detailed Test Objectives (DTO’s) (which are aimed at testing, evaluating or documenting systems or hardware or proposed improvements to hardware, systems and operations) is to perform a series of tests to investigate the DragonEye laser navigation sensor, SpaceX’s Dragon vehicles will use on approach to the ISS. NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO) – yes, it really is C3PO – is financing the experiment for SpaceX, a space transportation startup company, in NASA’s effort to stimulate a commercial market for spaceflight services. The SpaceX Dragon should be capable of carrying seven people or a smaller crew with cargo to the ISS. SpaceX also will perform a ground-based space qualification program to ensure the sensor can withstand the rigors of launch and operation in a space environment.

The STS-127 crew eagerly walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building to board the Astrovan - Photo Credit: NASA

Mission’s commander Mark Polansky will be the sending updates to his Twitter account via shuttle-NASA emails. 24/7 coverage of the STS-127 mission will be available on NASA TV. You can also follow the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the ISS in real time through NASA’s real time tracking. Information about out about visible ISS passes at your location is available from heavens-above.

The ground track of ISS with its current position - The dashed part of the orbit path shows where the satellite is in the earth's shadow, and the full part is where it is sunlit - Source: Heavens-Above.com

The next mission to the ISS will be STS-128, the 33rd construction flight, planned to launch on August 7 at 13:07 UTC (but now very likely to be pushed back because of the STS-127 launch delays). Shuttle Discovery will carry a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier and the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (Leonardo) whose main purpose is to assist with establishing a six-man crew capacity by providing extra supplies and equipment to the station.

Endeavour next flight is scheduled for February 4, 2010. The STS-130 mission (assembly flight 20A) will deliver the Tranquility Node 3 and the Cupola Module to the station. The shuttle’s last visit to space is planned for July 29, 2010. During STS-133 (assembly flight ULF5) the ISS will be extended with the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4) and Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM).

Update 1: 23:20 UTC the Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) and the Cape Weather Officer predict 60% chance of NO GO for the launch tomorrow at 22:51 as well as a potential launch on Tuesday. (Today, the weather forecast started with 40% change of weather prohibiting the launches on Monday and Tuesday)

At 23:03 UTC NASA’s launch director Pete Nickolenko coordinating with the Mission Management Team (MMT) called off today’s launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor on the STS-127 mission due inclement weather in the launch area as well as for a possible Return To Launch Site (RTLS) . There are launch windows opening at 22:46 UTC on Monday and 22:20 UTC on Tuesday. NASA will attempt another launch on Monday, July 13 at 22:51 UTC.

The RTLS abort is used if one or more engines shut down early and there is not enough energy to reach the Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites. The shuttle would pitch around toward KSC until reaching the gliding distance from the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and carry out an abort landing. For launch to proceed, weather conditions within 20 Nautical Miles (roughly 37km) of the SLF must be forecast as acceptable for about 20 minutes after liftoff.

Today’s Launch Time-line:

Space Shuttle Endeavour on the pad 39A ready for launch tonight at 23:13 UTC - Photo Credit: NASA

~12:00 UTC – Chance of the weather prohibiting launch stays at 30% while the chance of weather prohibiting tanking is down to 10%. The primary concerns for launch are showers and thunderstorms within ~40km of the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).

13:16 UTC – Mission Management Team (MMT) has given a GO for tanking to start shortly after 13:30 UTC after engineering reviews have been completed and no problems with shuttle systems have been found in the post-lightning checks. 13:48 UTC – The countdown resumes at the T-6 hour mark after built-in hold.

STS-127 at T-6 hours can counting - Photo Credit: NASA TV

13:48 UTC – STS-127 Launch Director Pete Nickolenko gave a GO to start the chill-down process of the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel lines.

13:58 UTC – Taking of liquid hydrogen (at 20K) started in the slow-fill mode and the liquid oxygen (at 90.188 K) will follow at 14:28 UTC

14:28 UTC – Launch teams began liquid oxygen tanking in the slow-fill phase adding 1,200 liters every minute.

View from inside the Launch Control Center of a monitor summarizing the External Tank (ET) fueling status - Photo Credit: NASA

14:39 UTC – Liquid oxygen tanking changes to fast-fill mode at almost 6,000 l per minute. Liquid hydrogen is also in fast-fill phase adding almost 32,000 liters every minute into the external tank (ET)

15:47 UTC – The liquid hydrogen tanking has reached 98% and will transition from fast-full to top-off at 2700 l per minute.

The Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate that was blamed for leaks which prompted two previous launch attempts by Endeavour to be scrubbed - Photo Credit: NASA TV

16:05 UTC – Launch teams keep a close eye on the readings from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) but see no indications of a leak.

16:48 UTC – The shuttle tanking went into a stable replenish and the countdown entered a 2.5 hour long inbuilt hold at T-3 hours.

The Final Inspection Team at the Pad 39-A - Photo Credit: NASA TV

18:15 UTC – The Final Inspection Team conduct a detailed analysis of the vehicle as the team walks up and down the entire launch tower. Meanwhile, the Closeout Crew, a team of technicians that straps the astronauts into the shuttle, is already at Launch Pad 39A configuring the crew module for countdown and launch.

The Closeout Crew configuring the crew module - Photo Credit: NASA TV

18:28 UTC – A Phase One Lightning Alert has been issued for the Kennedy Space Center but the situation is not unusual and the alert is likely to be canceled before the launch at 23:13 UTC.

18:30 UTC – STS-127 receive the weather briefing including weather at the abort landing sites, including the Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS), Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) and Transatlantic-Abort-Landing (TAL)

18:53 UTC – The STS-127 crew suits-up and starts the preparations to board the Astrovan and head to the launch pad.

19:18 UTC – The countdown clocks have resumed at T-3 hours. Endeavour’s crew are preparing to depart crew quarters for the pad.

19:23 UTC – The STS-127 crew members depart the Kennedy Space Center’s Operations and Checkout Building and board the Astrovan which takes them the launch pad 39-A a few minutes away.

The crew of STS-127 in front of the Astrovan - Photo Credit: NASA

19:30 UTC – Currently the weather is NO-GO due to thunderstorm within 20NM (roughly 40km) of the launch site. The forecast still predicts a 30% chance of the weather violating the launch criteria due to storms.

21:50 UTC – The weather is again on NO-GO due to conditions for the Return To Launch Site (RTLS) abort. For launch to proceed, weather conditions must be forecast as acceptable for a possible RTLS landing at KSC about 20 minutes after liftoff.

21:58 UTC – Countdown enters a 10-minute planned hold at the T-20 minute mark

22:08 UTC – The countdown resumes at the T-20 minute mark

22:19 UTC – Countdown enters a 45-minute planned hold at the T-9 minute mark, during which the Mission Management Team and Launch Control team will conduct polls to give a final “go” decision for launch.

The ISS position and ground track about 20 minutes before the planned launch - Source: Heavens-Above.com

23:02 UTC – During the final GO / NO-GO polls Houston declares NO-GO for RTLS weather.

23:03 UTC – Phase 1Lightning warning just issued for KSC

23:03 UTC – The launch director in coordination with the MMT declared a launch scrub.

Storm approaching the launch pad 39-A - Photo Credit: NASA TV/Spacevidcast

Update 1: Added a marvelous photo of storm clouds approaching the Launch Pad 39A taken by Bill Ingalls

Today at 14:38 UTC, after postponing the tanking for 30 minutes, NASA scrubbed the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-127) to examine ground equipment and systems aboard Endeavour for possible damage from lightning strikes. 11 lightning strikes were recorded within 0.5km of the launch pad during last night’s “pretty spectacular electrical storm“. Although there were no direct hits to either the orbiter, the external tank or the solid rocket boosters (SRB’s), the Ground Lightning Monitoring System (GLMS) declared a “lightning event” at 06:00 UTC and additional checks are needed to reach 100% confidence that orbiter electronic boxes and the solid rocket booster circuitry are fully functional.

Storm clouds approach Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, July 10, 2009 as space shuttle Endeavour stands awaiting Saturday's planned launch of the STS-127 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A lightning strike at Launch Pad 39A during Friday's thunderstorm - Source: NASA

The launch window for STS-127 is only 10 minutes long because the launch pad needs to be in the plane of the space station’s orbit. The next window starts tomorrow at 23:08:55 UTC and NASA will attempt a launch at 23:13:55 UTC. Currently, the weather forecast for tomorrow’s launch predicts a 40 percent chance that weather will prevent a liftoff due to thunderstorms and electrically-charged clouds. If the conditions don’t allow launch on Sunday, there are windows opening at 22:46 UTC on Monday and 22:20 UTC on Tuesday. Tuesday is the last day for the STS-127 launch that would not interfere with the planned Progress mission to the ISS.

Today’s postponement comes a month after two earlier scrubs on June 13 and June 17 due to gaseous hydrogen leak on a vent line near the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP). After June 20, it was not possible to launch the shuttle before the beta angle cutout ended on July 10. The beta angle is defined as the angle between the orbit plane and the vector from the sun. It affects the percentage of time an object, such as a spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO), spends in direct sunlight, absorbing solar energy. To prevent the orbiter from overheating, the shuttle cannot dock with the ISS if its beta angle is more than 60 degrees.

ISS Orbit around the Earth - Source: Heavens-Above.com

With another delay in STS-127 mission it is now even more likely that the launch of the next space station assembly flight (STS-128), currently targeted for August 7, will be delayed in a downstream domino effect.

If everything goes according to plan, the Space Shuttle Endeavour will take off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida tomorrow at 11:17:15 UTC on its 23rd mission – the 10th to the International Space Station (ISS). Seven crew members of STS-127 commanded by NASA veteran Mark Polansky (STS-98, STS-116) will stay in space for 15 Days 16 Hours and 59 Minutes and land at the KSC at 16:16 UTC on June 29. Mission specialists Dave Wolf, Chris Cassidy, Tom Mashburn and Tim Kopra will combine for 31 hours and 45 minutes during 5 planed spacewalks (EVA).

The crew of STS-127 - Source: NASA

Julie Payette (STS-96) will return to the ISS after 10 years as a mission specialist operating the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) aka Canadarm (Canadarm 1) and the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), better known by its primary component Canadarm2. In a meeting of generations, Julie Payette and Robert Thirsk (55) of Expedition 20, a member of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) committee which selected her from a pool of 5,330 applicants, will be the first two Canadian astronaut in space at the same time.

Patch commemorating Julie Payette's participation in STS-127 to the ISS. The patch features an image of the Earth taken from space with a robotic arm that spells out the astronaut's name in electronic circuitry - Source: NASASpaceFlight.com

STS-127 will be the first spaceflight for the shuttle pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn and Tim Kopra. Mission specialist Dave Wolf has never flown the shuttle but has spent 128 says aboard the Russian space station MIR. Koichi Wakata (STS-119) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will return to Earth and Tim Kopra will join the crew of Expedition 20 as a flight engineer where he will remain until August when Nicole Stott of STS-128 will take his place.

Pressurized Module of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) "Kibo" seen at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagoya, Japan - Source: NASDA

The mission will deliver to the station 2 modules of the Japanese Kibo (means “hope”) complex where science experiments will be exposed to the extreme environment of space. The rest of the payload consists of the ICC-VLD to provide heater power and electrical connections for the Orbital Replacement Units (ORU’s), the Atmosphere Neutral Density Experiment’s (ANDE) two microsatellites to gather data on the density and the composition of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) atmosphere and finally, the Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite (DRAGONSat) to collect GPS data on autonomous spacecraft rendezvous and docking capabilities. The Shuttle carries also a resupply of water, food and oxygen for the station.

One of the STS-127 Detailed Test Objectives (DTO’s) is to perform a series of tests to investigate the DragonEye laser navigation sensor, SpaceX’s Dragon vehicles will use on approach to the ISS. NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO) – yes, it really is C3PO – is financing the experiment for SpaceX, a space transportation startup company, in NASA’s effort to stimulate a commercial market for spaceflight services. The SpaceX Dragon should be capable of carrying seven people or a smaller crew with cargo to the ISS.

Today, at 18:52 UTC, the countdown will resume at T-11 after a built-in 13 hours and 52 minutes hold. At 01:52 UTC on Saturday, the external fuel tank will be loaded with 2.2  million liters of liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. At 07:27 UTC the crew will depart KSC Operations and Checkout Building and board the Astrovan to take them to the launch pad 39A a few minutes away. During the last built-in hold at T-9 minutes, the Launch Director Bryan Lunney, Mission Management Team and NASA Test Director Steve Payne will conduct the final “go/no go” polls for the launch.

Mission’s commander Mark Polansky will be the sending updates to his Twitter account via shuttle-NASA emails. 24/7 coverage of the STS-127 mission will be available on NASA TV. You can also follow the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the ISS in real time through NASA’s real time tracking. Information about out about visible ISS passes at your location is available from heavens-above.

ISS Ground track - Source: Heavens-Above.com

The next mission to the ISS will be STS-128, the 33rd construction flight, planned to launch on August 7 at 13:07 UTC. Shuttle Discovery will carry a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier and the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (Leonardo) whose main purpose is to assist with establishing a six-man crew capacity by providing extra supplies and equipment to the station.

Endeavour next flight is scheduled for February 4, 2010. The STS-130 mission (assembly flight 20A) will deliver the Tranquility Node 3 and the Cupola Module to the station. The shuttle’s last visit to space is planned for July 29, 2010. During STS-133 (assembly flight ULF5) the ISS will be extended with the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4) and Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM).