Watch the STS-127 Launch Video in HD


The storm clouds stayed far enough away so that space shuttle Endeavour and her STS-127 crew finally launched on July 15 on its sixth attempt. The video here shows spectacular views, from the camera mounted on the shuttle’s external tank, showing the launchpad dropping away below, and then the separation of the shuttle’s twin boosters two minutes and five seconds into the flight. Watching the video here, multiple pieces of foam insulation can be seen falling away from the external tank during the early moments of flight. The crew is working today on heat shield inspections to see if any significant damage occurred from any foam strikes on the belly of the orbiter.

Endeavour will meet up with the International Space Station on Friday. The six ISS astronauts will photograph the heat shield tiles to look for any signs of damage, as well.

The mission will include five spacewalks and the installation of the “porch” or exterior portion of the Japanese Kibo module.

Enjoy the ride along to orbit!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/

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