STS-118 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by the orbiter Endeavour.
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17 Facts About STS-118
3.
NASA press releases and media briefing documents stated that STS-118 was the first flight of a Mission Specialist Educator due to the presence of Barbara Morgan.
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4.
STS-118 mission delivered and assembled the starboard S5 truss segment of the International Space Station, as well as External Stowage Platform 3, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope .
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5.
Mission was scheduled to be flown by Columbia; STS-118 would have marked that orbiter's 29th flight and its first visit to the International Space Station.
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6.
STS-118 served as Endeavour's return to flight after a planned orbiter re-fit and maintenance period that resulted in over 200 modifications to the orbiter.
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7.
One of the most important modifications that debuted during STS-118 is an upgraded power-distribution module, the Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System .
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8.
STS-118 included mission specialist Barbara Morgan, the first Mission Specialist Educator.
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9.
STS-118 noted that the addition of SSPTS will be a valuable new tool, providing not only extended missions, but the ability to provide the space station with additional supplies of oxygen, water, and other resources.
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10.
STS-118 reported that after initial modeling they believe the majority of heating will be on the backside of the gouge, and not into the filler bar side, which was the preferable situation.
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11.
STS-118 reiterated that it was a complicated aerodynamic shape, and they wanted to be sure the flow would concentrate in the back "well" of the hole.
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12.
STS-118 reiterated that this was not a catastrophic damage situation, but simply a situation that they would prefer to fix if possible, similar to the OMS blanket issue during STS-117 in June 2007.
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13.
STS-118 mentioned several of the experiments that were launched with STS-118, and reported all experiments were proceeding well.
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14.
STS-118 noted the arc jet tests actually showed a higher degree of damage than the orbiter would sustain during re-entry, so the tests were helpful in showing the worst "possible" damage, and still did not damage the tile during testing enough to warrant repair.
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15.
STS-118 stated that normal turn-around time would not be compromised, as most orbiters have at least 60 tiles replaced after each mission, so the situation would not be any different from past missions.
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16.
STS-118 stated that over 200 people were involved in the decision, representing over 30 organizations, including NASA Ames Research Center, NASA's Langley Research Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, KSC, JSC, and that all the groups combined came to the same decision.
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17.
STS-118 stated she was accepted as a Mission Specialist, before the new class of Mission Specialist Educators were selected in 2004, and NASA considers her to be a mission specialist, who was once a teacher.
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