STS-127
Kibo Exposed Facility and Completion of Japan's Laboratory Complex
STS-127 delivered Kibo's Exposed Facility and exposed logistics section, extending Japanese research outside the station and completing the main Kibo assembly sequence.
Mission type
Crewed Space Shuttle assembly mission
Launch
July 15, 2009
Mission end / docking
July 31, 2009
Launch vehicle / spacecraft
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Objective
What this ISS mission set out to accomplish
Complete the principal Kibo laboratory configuration by adding an external experiment platform where payloads can operate directly in the space environment.
This record treats STS-127 as an assembly or station-support mission rather than as a satellite engineering page, keeping the mission objective separate from the hardware-level ISS engineering record.
Flight and rendezvous
How the mission reached and worked at the station
STS-127 launched on July 15, 2009 using Space Shuttle Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center, Launch Pad 39A.
Endeavour delivered the external platforms for robotic transfer. Crews used Canadarm2 and Kibo's robotic systems together with spacewalks to attach and outfit the new hardware.
Hardware and assembly
What was delivered, installed, or reconfigured
Primary hardware or assembly focus: Kibo Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module–Exposed Section.
Installation record: Kibo Exposed Facility installed during STS-127. This is the engineering connection between the mission story and the interactive International Space Station breakdown.
Outcome
What changed on the International Space Station
Kibo became a complete pressurized-and-exposed research complex, allowing Japanese and international experiments to operate both inside the station and directly in vacuum.
The documented result makes STS-127 part of the larger ISS assembly chain, where individual missions progressively added structure, power, laboratories, robotics, thermal control, logistics, and crew-support systems.
Continue exploring
Follow the connected story
Open the International Space Station engineering page
See the station modules, truss systems, solar arrays, robotics, and launch/install history in the interactive engineering experience.
Browse launch records
Compare this mission with other launches and ISS assembly flights.
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Explore other TransitSatellite mission stories.