[sarex] Crew Excited About Endeavour's Success

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468


	
  	*Crew Excited About Endeavour's Success*

Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at Kennedy Space Center.
Image above: Space Shuttle Endeavour landed Aug. 21, 2007, at Kennedy 
Space Center in Florida. The perfect landing capped a construction and 
supply mission to the International Space Station. Image: NASA/Chuck 
Tintera
+ View Hi-Res Image of Landing 
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/187270main_07pd2298.jpg>

A couple hours after landing back at Kennedy Space Center, the crew of 
STS-118 spoke enthusiastically about their 13 days in orbit and work on 
the International Space Station.

"It was a great experience and the space station is really, I think, a 
stepping stone to going back to the moon and on to Mars some day," 
commander Scott Kelly said.

Teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan said she is still getting used 
to gravity again, but that spaceflight was a great experience that she 
hopes more teachers get to share in.

"The flight was absolutely wonderful," she said. "I felt like I was 
upside-down the whole first day."

Canadian astronaut Dave Williams said the thrill never gets dull.

"It's truly the ride of a lifetime," Williams said of the launch Aug. 8. 
"Look over your shoulder and you can see Hurricane Dean."

The flight delivered a new segment to the International Space Station, 
along with 5,800 pounds of supplies and equipment.

As far as the ding in a couple of heat shield tiles, Kelly said it did 
not bother him much.

"I was a little bit underwhelmed by the size of the gouge," he said. "To 
see it, it looked rather small."

*Photos of Tile Damage*
+ View Hi-Res Image of Tile Damage 
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/187279main_07pd2305.jpg>
+ View Hi-Res Image of Tile Taken in Space 
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/187280main_07pd2303.jpg>

*Mission Information*
+ STS-118 Mission Overview 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts118/index.html>
+ STS-118 Fact Sheet (900 Kb PDF) 
<http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/184910main_sts118_factsheet4.pdf>
+ STS-118 NASA TV Schedule 
<http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/mission_schedule.html>