http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/index.html
Mission STS-123

Orbiter: Endeavour
Mission: STS-123/1J/A
Primary Payload: Kibo Logistics Module, Dextre Robotics System
Launch Date: March 11, 2008
Launch Time: 2:28 a.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39A
Mission Duration: 16 days
Landing Date: March 26
Landing Time: 7:01 p.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
Endeavour and Station Crews Open Hatches
2008/03/12

The STS-123 and Expedition 16 crews opened the hatches between space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station at 1:28 a.m. EDT. They are combining forces for 12 days of joint operations.

About an hour before docking, which occurred at 11:49 p.m. Wednesday, STS-123 Commander Dominic Gorie and Pilot Gregory H. Johnson guided the shuttle through a back-flip maneuver, giving the Expedition 16 crew the opportunity to take pictures of the orbiter’s protective heat-resistant tiles. These photos have been transmitted to engineers in Mission Control for analysis.

One of the first joint tasks is for Garrett Reisman to join the Expedition 16 crew by trading places with Flight Engineer Léopold Eyharts, a European Space Agency astronaut.

The crews also are preparing for the first of five scheduled spacewalks, which Mission Specialist Rick Linnehan and Reisman will begin at 8:23 p.m. Thursday.

In addition, the STS-123 crew will install the Canadian-built Dextre – the final element of the station’s Mobile Servicing System – and the Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurized Section, which is the first component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory.

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200803/20080313812932.html
奮進號太空梭靠泊太空站 將安裝日實驗模組
法新社╱張仲琬 2008-03-13 14:50     

 
 
（法新社華盛頓十二日電）美國國家航空暨太空總署（NASA）表示，美國奮進號太空梭今天停靠國際太空站。機上有七名組員，包括日籍太空人土井隆雄。

奮進號指揮官戈里今天晚上十一時四十九分（台灣時間十三日上午十一時四十九分）成功停靠國際太空站，比預定時間約晚四十分鐘。

NASA電視播報員表示，奮進號自佛羅里達州甘迺迪太空中心升空，歷經四十八小時飛行後，在新加坡上空位置與國際太空站接合。

奮進號完成靠泊後，國際太空站上響起歡迎鈴聲，這是承襲自航海操作的歡迎訪客傳統。

如果一切進行順利，太空人將在完成壓力與縫隙檢查後，於上午一點零八分（台灣時間十三日下午一時零八分）打開太空梭與國際太空站之間的艙門。

太空人之後將展開為期十二天的聯合任務，初期將先安裝一間日本實驗室。這間實驗室會是國際太空站最大及最後一組研究艙。

有了這間實驗室，日本將在國際太空站站有一席之地，與美國、俄羅斯與歐洲並駕齊驅。歐洲實驗室「哥倫布」二月才運送上國際太空站。

奮進號太空人將先安裝名為「Kibo」的日本實驗室，Kido是微重力的研究設備，將為更進一步的太空探險開啟重要的新階段。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080313/ts_afp/usjapanspaceiss_080313110640
Endeavour shuttle docks at space station

by Jean-Louis Santini
1 hour, 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2008 (AFP) - The seven crew members of the space shuttle Endeavour boarded the International Space Station after docking high over Southeast Asia, NASA said Thursday.
 
The space rendez-vous took place 342 kilometers (212 miles) over Singapore at 0349 GMT, two days after Endeavour blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a NASA TV commentator said.

A bell rang on the ISS after docking was complete to welcome the shuttle on board, in a tradition borrowed from nautical practice.

Hatches between the shuttle and the space station were opened at 0528 GMT, and the three ISS residents and seven Endeavour crew members, including Japanese astronaut Takao Doi, greeted one another with hearty hugs.

"Today was a textbook rendez-vous and docking. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Picture perfect," flight director Mike Moses told reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

About an hour before docking, shuttle commander Dominic Gorie guided the spacecraft through a back-flip maneuver while the ISS crew took some 300 digital pictures of the underbelly of the space shuttle.

The pictures were to be sent to Earth and analyzed for signs of potential damage to the shuttle's thermal tiles, a routine procedure since the space shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

Columbia disintegrated re-entering Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven on board, because its thermal shield had been damaged when it was struck by a piece of debris during launch.

Gorie then painstakingly guided the shuttle toward the ISS, carefully aligning the two spacecraft with respective masses of 120 and 320 tonnes, hurtling through space at 29,000 kilometers (18,000 miles) per hour.

The crews now begin 12 days of joint operations to include initial work installing a Japanese laboratory that is to become the largest and last research module of the International Space Station.

With its installation Japan gains a foothold on the ISS alongside the United States, Russia and Europe, whose laboratory Columbus was delivered to the station in February.

Kibo, which means "hope" in Japanese, is a micro-gravity research facility which aims to open a vital new stage in deeper space exploration.

"We are now taking this first step down the path that will lead to the establishment of 'a Japanese home in space,'" Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said after the Endeavour crew boarded the ISS, borrowing a comment that Doi made before launch.

Endeavour will also deliver a piece of hardware from Canada -- a component for the robotic arm named Dextre, which is used for delicate tasks normally reserved for an astronaut on a space walk.

The 16-day Endeavour mission is the longest at the ISS and will see the crew venture out on five space walks, totaling about 30 hours of work.

Kibo will be the largest by far of the four research modules on board the station and represents Japan's most important offering to the project, to which the island nation has contributed a total of 10 billion dollars.

Several of Kibo's experiments, focusing in part on medicine, biology, biotechnology and communications, are seen as crucial steps in preparing further missions to the Moon and even human missions to Mars.

The first stage being delivered is ELM-PS, a 4.2-ton logistics module measuring 3.9 meters (12.8 feet) long and 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) in diameter.

Its key component, the Pressurized Module with a remote-control robotic arm, is expected to be transported to the ISS on space shuttle Discovery due to launch May 25.

The module is a massive 11.2-meter-long (36.7 feet) cylinder weighing 15.9 tons.

The final Kibo installment, an inter-orbit communications system unit called the Exposed Facility, is due for delivery in March 2009.

Gorie, 50, leads a team comprising co-pilot Gregory Johnson, 45, mission specialists Rick Linnehan, 50, Robert Behnken, 37, Mike Foreman, 50, Garret Reisman, 40, and Doi, 53, from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Four of the astronauts are making their maiden voyages into space.

Aboard the ISS are commander Peggy Whitson, Frenchman Leopold Eyharts, a medical researcher and engineer from France's National Center of Space Studies, and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.

Eyharts will be returning to Earth aboard Endeavour, with Reisman taking his place abord the ISS.

http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-News/2007Cti-News-Content/0,4521,110504+112008031200530,00.html
中國時報 2008.03.12
日本首艘載人太空船 順利升空
黃菁菁／東京11日

　美國奮進號太空梭於11日下午2時28分（台北時間）從美國佛羅里達的甘迺迪太空中心成功發射升空。太空梭負責運送日本第1個有人太空實驗船「希望（Kibo）」號到國際太空站，再由日本太空人土井隆雄完成架設「船內保管室」的重要任務，日本視此舉為開啟太空開發史新頁的重要任務。

　奮進號太空梭搭載7名各國太空人前往國際太空站，這次也是日本首次將有人太空實驗室裝設到國際太空站，因此特地由1997年有過太空經驗的土井前往完成架設「實驗後勤模組」﹝船內保管室﹞並入室測試的任務，土井還計畫試穿日本開發的太空便裝，以及進行無重力拋丟拉麵實驗。

　奮進號太空梭在發射後兩分鐘，拋開火箭推進器，8分50秒後將外部燃料箱分離，約45分鐘後順利抵達繞地球的軌道。

　土井也將成為第1個進入國際太空站日本實驗室的日本太空人，土井預定在國際太空站執行16天的任務，預定於27日上午返回地球。

　土井預定在飛行第4天起開始作業，他將利用太空梭的機器手臂檢查各項器材有沒有損傷，再著手裝設船內保管室，待保管室的電源開啟後，確定室內有空氣流通時，土井將戴上保護臉部的口罩、眼罩等進入室內。

　「希望」號是研究微地心引力的實驗室，將分3次載送到國際太空站，土井執行的是第一階段的保管室裝設任務，接下來，今年5月25日將由星出彰彥太空人搭乘發現號太空梭運送「加壓模組」﹝即船內實驗室﹞到國際太空站，明年春天待船外的實驗設備架設完畢才真正完成希望號的架設工作。

　參與國際太空站計畫的共有15個國家，除日本之外，還有美國、俄羅斯、加拿大以及歐洲太空總署的11個會員國。

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200803/20080311778974.html
奮進號太空梭發射升空
法新社╱林憬屏 2008-03-11 19:05    

 
 
（法新社佛羅里達卡納維爾角十一日電）美國奮進號太空梭今天格林威治時間六時二十八分（台北時間十四時二十八分）發射升空。奮進號太空梭運送日本第一個太空實驗室到國際太空站。

奮進號太空梭從甘迺迪太空中心發射後兩分鐘，拋棄了火箭推進器。

奮進號太空梭有七名太空人，包括日本的土井隆雄，他們將進行十六天任務，裝設第一階段的日本實驗室「希望」（Kibo），這是一個微地心引力的研究設備。

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
Endeavour Soars into Space

March 11, 2008
Space shuttle Endeavour thundered into orbit early Tuesday morning carrying seven astronauts and Japan's dreams for a space-based laboratory at the International Space Station.

"This is a great launch and a real tribute to the team to get it ready to go fly," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations.

The STS-123 mission started with a rare night launch for Endeavour's crew, commanded by veteran astronaut Dominic Gorie. Gregory H. Johnson served as Pilot. The mission specialists for the flight are an international mix of experienced and first-time crew members. Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan, Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi all have critical roles during the 16-day mission by Endeavour.

Thrust in the form of translucent blue and bright yellow fire ignited a light show over NASA's Kennedy Space Center when Endeavour roared off the launch pad at 2:28 a.m. EDT on March 11.

The first module of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory complex was packed inside Endeavour's cargo bay, along with a Canadian-built robotics system that will enhance the capabilities of the International Space Station's robotic arm.

The pressurized logistics module for the Kibo complex represents the first manned spacecraft for Japan.

"With this flight, I believe we fully became a real partner in the International Space Station project," said Keiji Tachikawa, president of JAXA, the Japanese space agency.

Dextre is the robotics system that Endeavour lofted into orbit. With it, Canada is making a literal extension to what the nation already built. Canada built both the space shuttle robot arm and the robotic arm used on the International Space Station.

"Today we are marking another point in our space history," said Guy Bujold, director of the Canadian Space Agency.

It will take the STS-123 crew more than two weeks in space and five spacewalks to accomplish the goals of the mission.

Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Leopold Eyharts, who arrived at the station aboard Atlantis in February, will return to Earth with the Endeavour crew as Reisman takes his place on the station.

http://news.yam.com/bcc/international/200803/20080311775073.html
奮進號太空梭升空
中廣新聞網╱郭希誠 2008-03-11 15:09     

美國奮進號太空梭從佛羅里達州發射，前往國際太空站，送去日本太空實驗室的部分零組件以及一個加拿大製的機器人。

奮進號是台北時間星期二下午發射的。發射以後八分鐘就進入了運行的軌道。奮進號將在軌道裡運行十六天，然後在太空站待十二天，是太空梭在太空站停留最長的一次。

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
It's Official!

Feb. 29, 2008
NASA's mission management team decided Friday that March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT is the official launch time for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission.

After two days of evaluating launch preparations for the mission, the group has confirmed the readiness of the shuttle, flight crew and payload for the next flight to the International Space Station.

Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations said there are very few issues being worked and the shuttle is ready to go. He stressed the16-day mission will be complex for the crew with five spacewalks to continue expansion of the station.

"It was a very thorough review, we covered lots information, lots of data," said Gerstenmaier. "The teams are truly ready."

"It’s a tribute to the teams that they worked so well with the vehicle... they've done a phenomenal job."

"We're right on the timeline," said Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director. "Endeavour is doing really well and we're ready to launch on the eleventh."

The crew will deliver the first segment of a Japanese laboratory complex called Kibo, plus a new Canadian robotics system to complement the station's robot arm.

The flight is commanded by Dominic Gorie with Gregory H. Johnson serving as Pilot. The crew also includes Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Garret Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.

http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200803/20080301571642.html
奮進號太空梭執行載運任務 十一日發射升空
法新社╱曹宇帆 2008-03-01 17:20    

 
 
（法新社華盛頓一日電）根據美國國家航空暨太空總署今天發布的聲明稿，航太總署證實，為載運一座日本太空實驗室的部份設備至在地球軌道上運行的國際太空站，奮進號太空梭將在十一日發射升空。

太空梭發射指揮官萊因巴克表示：「我們正按照時間表順利進行。奮進號狀況非常的好，我們準備在三月十一日發射升空。」

為了在太空站裝設三套日本設備中的第一套，任務小組將必須冒險離開太空梭，在外太空漫步五次。此舉被視為更深入太空探索的一個重要階段。

聲明稿說，「為這次任務的發射準備做了兩天評估後，工作團隊已確認，即將在下次飛行前往國際太空站的太空梭、機組員與載運設備，均已準備就緒」。

聲明稿表示，「只有極少數的問題仍在處理中，這艘太空梭已蓄勢待發」。

奮進號太空梭預定在早上二時二十八分（台灣時間三月十一日下午三時二十八分）發射升空，載運七名太空人，包括日本籍的土井隆雄。

奮進號也將載運一件來自加拿大的硬體。這件硬體是國際太空站機械手臂的零件，這個機械手臂被用來將設備舉到預定安裝的位置。

航太總署太空梭在上次執行的任務中，曾將一座歐洲實驗室載運至這個太空站。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080301/sc_afp/usjapanspaceshuttle_080301002432
NASA confirms next shuttle launch March 11

Fri Feb 29, 7:24 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US space agency NASA confirmed it would launch the shuttle Endeavour on March 11 to deliver part of a Japanese space laboratory to an orbiting station, according to a statement Friday.
 
"We're right on the timeline," said Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director. "Endeavour is doing really well and we're ready to launch on the 11th."

The mission team will have to venture out on five space walks to set up the first of three Japanese installations at the station, which is aimed to be a key stage in deeper space exploration.

"After two days of evaluating launch preparations for the mission, the group has confirmed the readiness of the shuttle, flight crew and payload for the next flight to the International Space Station," it said.

"There are very few issues being worked and the shuttle is ready to go."

Endeavour is due to take off at 2:28 am (0728 GMT) on March 11 with a crew of seven, including the Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.

It will also deliver a piece of hardware from Canada -- a component for the station's robotic arm which is used to heft equipment into position.

NASA's last shuttle mission took a European laboratory to the station.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
Flight Readiness Review Under Way

Feb. 28, 2008
NASA's senior officials and Space Shuttle Program managers are meeting today for the Flight Readiness Review, a standard process leading up to any shuttle mission. Known simply by its acronym FRR, the two-day session gives NASA a chance to evaluate whether space shuttle Endeavour is prepared for its duties during the STS-123 mission.

The group is to formally set a launch date for the flight at the end of the second day of meetings.

Endeavour and its crew of seven astronauts is to launch March 11, 2008, at 2:28 a.m. from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will carry the first segment of a Japanese laboratory complex called Kibo, plus a new robotics system to complement the station's robot arm.

The flight is commanded by Dominic Gorie with Gregory H. Johnson serving as Pilot. The crew also includes Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Robert L. Behnkin, Mike Foreman, Garret Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.