STS-123: Installing Kibo’s Logistics Module and Dextre

On March 11, 2008, the space shuttle Endeavour launched on STS-123, carrying the pressurized logistics module of Japan’s Kibo laboratory and the Canadian two-armed robot Dextre to the International Space Station. These payloads expanded internal storage and external maintenance capabilities. The mission also involved a crew rotation, cargo transfers and five spacewalks. Kibo’s larger main laboratory was to arrive on a later flight.

NASA organized the shuttle flight, while the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Canadian Space Agency developed and helped install their respective facilities. Dominic Gorie commanded the mission and Gregory Johnson served as pilot. Richard Linnehan, Robert Behnken, Michael Foreman and Takao Doi were mission specialists. Garrett Reisman flew up to join the station crew, while ESA astronaut Léopold Eyharts returned aboard Endeavour.

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Kibo’s pressurized logistics module is a cylindrical structure approximately 4.4 meters in outside diameter and 4.2 meters long. Its interior maintains normal atmospheric pressure and can accommodate eight racks. It transported systems and experimental equipment for Kibo and offered storage for samples, tools and spares. Because the main laboratory would arrive later, the logistics module was temporarily installed on top of the Harmony node.

Dextre works in the vacuum outside the station and forms part of Canada’s Mobile Servicing System. Each arm has seven joints; its end carries gripping mechanisms, a retractable powered socket wrench, cameras and lights for replacing small external components. Force and torque sensors help control contact. Dextre can attach to Canadarm2 or the mobile base and can be operated by crew inside the station or controllers on the ground.

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Endeavour lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A at approximately 06:28:14 on March 11. Times in this article use UTC. On the second flight day, the crew inspected the thermal protection surfaces and prepared for rendezvous. At about 03:50 on March 13, the shuttle achieved initial docking capture with the station, followed by docking-ring and hook operations to complete the connection.

On March 14, Takao Doi and Gorie used the shuttle’s robotic arm to lift the Japanese module out of the payload bay and move it to Harmony’s upper Common Berthing Mechanism. Ground controllers and crew coordinated bolt fastening, completing installation at about 08:58. They then pressurized the connecting passage and checked for leaks before activation and crew entry. This work proceeded alongside the first spacewalk.

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Dextre reached orbit in separate pieces on a transport pallet. After the pallet was removed from Endeavour and placed on the station’s mobile base, a ground command failed to supply the expected power. The team used Canadarm2 to grapple the pallet again and supply the heating power needed by the robot components, allowing assembly to continue.

Spacewalkers progressively removed and installed the robot’s arms, released launch restraints, and fitted tools and accessories. Ground teams conducted joint and brake run-in tests. One wrist joint overshot by approximately 0.1 degree, but the test results remained acceptable. The five spacewalks also transferred spares and installed a materials exposure experiment. An initial attempt to install its containers failed; they were successfully placed during the final spacewalk.

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The fourth spacewalk included a test of a thermal protection tile repair material dispenser. Astronauts filled ten specially carried tile samples with repair material and completed the planned operating objectives, testing the tool in vacuum and microgravity. Image analysis separately cleared Endeavour’s thermal protection system for reentry.

The crew left the robotic-arm extension boom and its inspection sensors at the station for STS-124. That mission’s large Japanese main laboratory would occupy payload bay space, preventing the boom from launching in its usual arrangement. STS-123 therefore completed its late thermal protection inspection while still docked, then handed over the boom, connected heater power and fitted protective covers.

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During the extended docking period, the station supplied power to Endeavour, reducing shuttle fuel-cell consumption. The crews also adjusted ventilation ducts to improve air exchange between the shuttle and the U.S. laboratory. Once the Japanese module and robot were assembled, Reisman remained aboard the station and Eyharts joined the returning crew. Experimental data, samples and supplies returned with the shuttle.

At about 00:25 on March 25, Endeavour undocked and flew around the station to photograph the new equipment. At approximately 00:39 on March 27, it landed on Kennedy Space Center’s Runway 15, still the evening of March 26 locally. STS-123 added the first pressurized component of Japan’s laboratory and Canada’s precision handling capability, while power troubleshooting, robotic-arm handovers and repeated spacewalk assembly advanced cooperation between the partners’ equipment.

References: [1]