Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-118) Poster

The Space Shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member STS-118 crew head towards Earth-orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station. Liftoff from Kennedy Space Centre's launch pad 39A occurred at 6:36 p.m. (EDT) on Aug. 8, 2007. Onboard are astronauts Scott Kelly, commander; Charlie Hobaugh, pilot; Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Canadian Space Agency's Dave Williams, Barbara R. Morgan and Alvin Drew, all mission specialists. Endeavour will link up with the International Space Station on Friday, Aug. 10, to begin a joint mission to continue construction by delivering a third starboard truss segment, S5, and other payloads such as the SPACEHAB module and the external stowage platform 3. The 11-day mission may be extended to as many as 14 depending on the test of the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System that will allow the docked shuttle to draw electrical power from the station and extend its visits to the orbital complex.