Endeavour at ISS

November 17, 2008 — It’s going to be Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, except Ty Pennington won’t be there. Space shuttle Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station Sunday, and after settling in, the crew will begin a huge home makeover, preparing the station to accommodate twice as many astronauts for long-duration stays. Expedition 18 welcomed the STS-126 crew members inside the Harmony Node at 7:16 p.m. EST Sunday, after docking at 5:01 p.m. Sandra Magnus, who arrived aboard Endeavour, will swap Soyuz seatliners with station astronaut Greg Chamitoff and replace him as Expedition 18 flight engineer. Chamitoff has lived on the outpost since June. The shuttle left Friday night for its 15-day mission, carrying supplies and equipment necessary to double the crew size from three to six members in spring 2009. The new station cargo includes additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, a water reclamation system and a resistance exercise device. One other thing is in Endeavour’s cargo — a camera that will help U.S. farmers and provide unique educational opportunities for students. Students and faculty at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, built the Agricultural Camera, known as AgCam, which will be installed on the orbiting outpost. The students will operate the camera from their campus and work closely with NASA engineers and station astronauts. The mission's four planned spacewalks primarily will focus on servicing the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow the outpost's solar arrays to track the sun. The starboard SARJ has had limited use since September 2007. Shortly before launch, Commander Chris Ferguson thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "It's our turn to take home improvement to a new level after 10 years of International Space Station construction," he said. "Endeavour is good to go." Joining Ferguson and Magnus are Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough.

The STS-126 and Expedition 18 crews greet each other. Photo credit: NASA TV Crew members for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission pause by the Astrovan to wave to spectators before their ride to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. From left are Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus, Shane Kimbrough, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Steve Bowen and Donald Pettit, Pilot Eric Boe and Commander Chris Ferguson. Photo credit: NASA

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