Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC); landing at Cape
Canaveral (
KSC);
ISS-1J/A
JEM
ELM PS /
SLP-D1.
Following a two day solo flight Endeavour docked to the
ISS on
13.03.2008. Common work with the
ISS
expedition 16.
Transfer
Reisman to
ISS and
Eyharts to the STS-123-crew.
First
EVA by
Linnehan and
Reisman on 14.03.2008 (7h 01m) to prepare the
JEM
ELM PS for its removal from the shuttle's payload bay. Later that day, the
Japanese facility was installed on top of the Harmony module.
Second
EVA by
Linnehan and
Foreman on 16.03.2008 (7h 08m) to assemble Special Purpose
Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), named Dextre by removing covers and installing
arm components on its main body.
Third
EVA by
Linnehan and
Behnken on 17.03.2008 (6h 53m) to complete Dextre assembly by
installing a tool platform and tool holster assembly.
Fourth
EVA by
Behnken and
Foreman on 20.03.2008 (6h 24m) to evaluate the Shuttle Tile
Ablator-54, or STA-54, material and a tile repair ablator dispenser for use as
a shuttle thermal protection system repair technique. The Tile Repair Ablator
Dispenser, or T-RAD, is similar to a caulk gun. They used TRAD to mix and
squirt out the STA-54 material into holes in several demonstration tiles. The
repaired samples will be returned to Earth for extensive testing.
Fifth and final
EVA by
Behnken and
Foreman on 22.03.2008 (6h 02m) to move the Orbiter Boom
Sensor System, the 50 ft. extension of the shuttle's robotic arm, to a
temporary location on the station's main truss or backbone. The OBSS was left
on the station because shuttle Discovery doesn't have enough room in its cargo
bay to carry both the boom and the large Japanese pressurized module on the
STS-124 mission. The spacewalkers also
installed a new trundle bearing assembly in the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary
Joint to allow the joint to rotate a little bit more if necessary. That
SARJ has had
limited ability for several months, and metallic debris has been found inside
it. Additional spacewalk tasks included inspecting the
SARJ and
collecting debris samples.
