#sts-123

Endeavour Departs ISS

"Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the International Space Station appears very small from the point of view of the Space Shuttle Endeavour as the two spacecraft carry out their relative separation. Endeavour's vertical stabilizer, orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods and payload bay are seen in this image photographed by an STS-123 crewmember onboard the shuttle. Prior to undocking the STS-123 and Expedition 16 crews had concluded 12 days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 8:25 p.m. (EDT) on March 24, 2008."

Date: March 24, 2008

Endeavour launches into the night on STS-123

"Against a black sky, the Space Shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member STS-123 crew head toward Earth-orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff was on time at 2:28 a.m. (EDT). Onboard are NASA astronauts Dominic Gorie, commander; Gregory H. Johnson, pilot; Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan, Garrett Reisman and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takao Doi, all mission specialists. The crew will make a record-breaking 16-day mission to the International Space Station and deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Reisman will join Expedition 16 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the ISS."

Date: March 11, 2008

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --- In the 16th night landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour touches down on Runway 15 to end the STS-123 mission, a 16-day flight to the International Space Station. The main landing gear touched down at 8:39:08 p.m. EDT. The nose landing gear touched down at 8:39:17 p.m. and wheel stop was at 8:40:41 p.m. The mission completed nearly 6.6 million miles. The landing was the second opportunity after the first was waved off due to unstable weather in the Kennedy Space Center area. The STS-123 mission delivered the first segment of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, known as Dextre."

Date: March 26, 2008

Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

Japanese Experiment Module Mission Insignias.

STS-123 by rocatis on Flickr.

Space Shuttle Endeavour by rocatis on Flickr.