ISS's robotic arm, Orbital Boom Sensor System and Endeavour's robotic armImage above: The International Space Station's robotic arm prepares to hand off the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to shuttle Endeavour's robotic arm. Image credit: NASA TV
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Zarya, the International Space Station's first component to go into space, passed the 50,000th orbit mark at 11:17 a.m. EDT today. Zarya, which is Russian for "Sunrise", was funded by the United States and built by Russia. It launched atop a Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Nov. 20, 1998.

A third external stowage platform (ESP) will be installed on the International Space Station today. This time it will be done by crew members using robotic arms of the shuttle Endeavour and the station.

Both ESPs now on the station, one on the U.S. laboratory Destiny and the other on the Quest airlock, were attached during spacewalks.

The Endeavour crew, Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, and Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Dave Williams, Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew, and station crew members, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clay Anderson, were awakened at 5:07 a.m. CDT by "Happy Birthday Tracy," performed by Caldwell's nieces and nephews, in recognition of the day's significance.

An International Space Station / STS-118 ARISS school contact has been planned with children in the McCall-Donnelly School District in McCall, Idaho, USA on 16 Aug. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:14 UTC.

The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and VK4KHZ. The contact should be audible in eastern Australia. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. In addition, the audio should be available via IRLP and EchoLink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

McCall-Donnelly School District consists of two high schools, one middle school, and two elementary schools for approximately 900 students. The school district's motto is "Educating Students for Life". Located in McCall, Idaho; the district is nestled in amongst the Payette National Forest. A former logging community, McCall located about 100 miles north of Boise and is now considered a year round resort destination with the nickname "Ski Town USA". Barbara Morgan taught in the district for years and was an active member of the community. The district science team works closely with the State Department of Education and the University of Idaho as members of Idaho Reaches Into Space (IRIS) to coordinate classroom activities and assemblies developed by NASA aerospace educators and aligned to Idaho achievement standards.