Shot during NASA tour, Friday, June 12. More on STS-127 here. Mark Polansky, commander, was my crewmate on STS-98. Dave Wolf, my 1990 astronaut classmate (the Hairballs) is the lead spacewalker. Tom Marshburn, also going EVA, helped care for me and my family during shuttle mission training. Read more at Sky Walking.
STS-127, Endeavour, on launch pad 39A. I flew her twice. (author photo)
Also toured Vehicle Assembly Building, with Ares I-X hardware ready to stack.
Orion crew module mass simulator, for Ares I-X flight, with launch abort system. All are inert steel mockups. (author photo)
The real test for the countdown tonight will be just before midnight, when fueling of Endeavour is nearly complete and we’ll see if the fix on the ground umbilical carrier plate is working. Best outcome would be to get Endeavour off on time, Wed, and then send LRO off about 36 hours later. Thanks to the Air Force for agreeing to such a short switch on the range equipment. Great can-do attitude! Go Endeavour!
For terrific images from Space Radar Lab on my two Endeavour missions. go here to JPL’s radar imaging site. Some of these beautiful images are favorites in my book, Planetology.
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