spacetoday.net: special section: STS-123

Shuttle makes delayed landing in Florida

Posted: Wed, Mar 26 11:37 PM ET (0337 GMT)
STS-123: landing (NASA/KSC)

The space shuttle Endeavour landed safely in Florida Wednesday evening, one orbit later than planned because of weather issues. Endeavour touched down at the Kennedy Space Center's runway at 8:39 pm EDT Wednesday (0039 GMT Thursday), concluding the 16-day STS-123 mission. The first landing attempt, one orbit and about 90 minutes earlier, was waved off because of low clouds in the area, but conditions cleared enough to permit the landing in the second and final landing window of the day. The landing brought to an end a mission that saw the successful delivery and installation of part of the Japanese Kibo laboratory and the Canadian-built Dextre robotic manipulator on the ISS. Five spacewalks took place during the mission, setting a record for a shuttle mission to the station. The shuttle also returned with a European astronaut, Leopold Eyharts, who spent a month and a half on the ISS setting up the Columbus lab module brought to the station on the previous shuttle mission; he was replaced by NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman. The next shuttle mission, STS-124, is tentatively scheduled for May 25.

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Astronauts complete final STS-123 EVA

Posted: Sun, Mar 23 9:22 AM ET (1322 GMT)
STS-123: EVA #5 (NASA)

Two astronauts spent six hours outside the International Space Station Saturday night, completing a final set of tasks planned for the STS-123 mission. Robert Behnken and Michael Foreman spent six hours and two minutes outside the station on an EVA that ended at 10:36 pm EDT Saturday (0236 GMT Sunday). The primary task of the mission was to stow a boom used to perform shuttle inspections on the station. The boom is normally returned to Earth on each shuttle mission but will be kept on the station because there is no room for it on the next mission, which will carry the rest of the Kibo lab module to the ISS. Astronauts also successfully installed a materials science experiment on the exterior of the Columbus module; that experiment was to be installed on the mission's third EVA but failed to attach properly. The two also inspected a balky joint that helps the station's solar arrays track the Sun and performed some get-ahead tasks. After a rest period today, the STS-123 crew will wrap up its stay on the station. The shuttle is scheduled to undock Monday night and return to Earth on Wednesday.

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