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This is the first SpaceVidcast.com episode explaining what SpaceVidcast is, what you can expect and why we’re here. Tune in live right here on SpaceVidcast.com Thursday nights to participate, or we will be making a download/iTunes on-demand feed available soon.

While not something I would normally record I had a teacher in Mexico request that I grab the full spacewalk so she could show her students. I have done just that. From hatch opening to closing here is the 4th EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) performed outside of the International Space Station with shuttle Endeavour docked:

As you watch Endeavour float above the earth at a staggering 17,500 MPH I think it’s important to remember who we all are and where we came from. We, as humans, are explorers. We are curious. We are adventurous. We are daring and sometimes foolish. We are capable of uniting the planet over magnificent accomplishments and warring over petty words.

In 1969 Apollo 11 landed on the moon. In 1972 Apollo 17 was the last craft to take any humanoid to our neighbor in the stars. No one has been back since. No one has set foot on anything other than the Earth and our moon.

Did we lose our curiosity? Did we get caught up over petty words and wars so much that we forgot who we were? Who we are?

While NASA aims to put humans again on the moon as well as Mars many question the costs both financially and from a risk standpoint. Many wonder why we should even explore a planet that we can not inhabit, that many see as a fools errand. Even back in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, many people asked much the same question.

I started this site to educate people on the value of space travel. To get people excited about putting humans on the moon again. Putting humans on Mars. We are explorers, we belong out there in regions we have never seen before. The rain forests, the oceans and of course the stars. This will come at a heavy price, but the cost of not exploring, not advancing is far greater than that of forging forward.

Space flight has brought us amazing advancements in the quality of living for many across the world and it stands to continue to do the same. Poverty, global warming, recycling and feeding the planet are just a few areas that space travel stand to help us. Once we get over the petty quibbles and problems, take off the blinders we all wear, I think it will become clear that we belong out there, amongst the stars.

Starting directly after STS-123 SpaceVidcast.com will begin a weekly live videocast exclusively on Ustream.tv. The sole purpose of this videocast is to get all of planet Earth excited about space flight and living amongst the stars. Help us spread the word. Help us advance the human race. I hope we’ll see you there.

Information on EVA (spacewalks) #3, #4 and #5.

The International Space Station Flight Director Update for 03/17/2008

Mission Management Team Update for 03/16/2008.

Make sure to tune in to SpaceVidcast.com to watch key events of STS-123 live! Below is a list of events you may want to catch over the next couple of days. We’ll update the list each day with proper NASA timelines. Items in bold are things you don’t want to miss!

03/13/2008 - 02:00 EST - MISSION STATUS BRIEFING
03/13/2008 - 13:00 EST - ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE
03/13/2008 - 21:23 EST - EVA #1 Begins

03/14/2008 - 06:00 EDT - MISSION STATUS BRIEFING
03/14/2008 - 09:00 EDT - FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS (replayed on the hour during crew sleep)
03/14/2008 - 13:30 EDT - ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE
03/14/2008 - 17:00 EDT - POST-MMT BRIEFING
03/14/2008 - 20:00 EDT - MISSION STATUS BRIEFING

03/15/2008 - 13:00 EDT - ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE
03/15/2008 - 20:23 EDT - EVA #2 Begins

03/16/2008 - 05:30 EDT - MISSION STATUS BRIEFING
03/16/2008 - 12:30 EDT - ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE
03/16/2008 - 20:00 EDT - MMT Update
03/16/2008 - 21:18 EDT - KMOX RADIO - St. Louis, MO / WEWS-TV - Cleveland, OH / WBZ-TV, Boston, MA LIVE INTERVIEWS

Watch this post for updated schedule information as the Endeavour mission continues. We’ll keep a couple days worth of events available.

The latest on Dexter and EVA-2. We had a bit of a technical issue with the feed from NASA TV so it will go black for about 60 seconds near the end. Stick with it, the video and audio will pop back up for the final questions.

With the CanadaArm2 now powering Dexter, ISS Flight Director Ginger Kerrick gives us an update on how EVA will progress which also needs access to CanadaArm2.

The Mission Management Team update for STS-123 on 03/14/2008

While Endeavour is docked to the International Space Station we get an update from the ISS Flight Director.

This is a mission briefing of flight day 3 for Endeavour. Busy day as Endeavour docked with the ISS, footage of which is available in earlier posts. This is about a 25 minute update from NASA.

Probably the most complicated door opening ever devised, the crew of Endeavour was able to ingress to the International Space Station about 2 hours after docking. Imagine having to wait 2 hours to wait every door you go through!

This is a video of the Endeavour Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver all the way through docking of Endeavour to the International Space Station. It was a fun time in the chat room as we watched the event live, rooting on Endeavor.

Check out the stunning shots during the RPM as well as right before Endeavour docks to the ISS and the earthrise begins behind the vehicle. Stunning stuff. Total Run Time is about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

This is the mission briefing for STS-123’s day 2 which was held at 2:00am EST on 03/12/2008. UStream.tv suffered a minor glitch during the recording so the front half got cut off. The main part that is missed is talking about the object that may or may not have hit Endeavour at T+10 seconds. Within the video they start talking about the problem again about 1 minute in (no data other than something may or may not have hit the orbiter and they don’t know what it is).

Welcome to the first Space Transportation System (STS) live coverage on SpaceVidcast. Endeavour is slated to launch on March 11th, 2008 at 1:28am CST and land on March 26th at 7:35pm CST. We will be covering the event live the entire flight starting with our pre-launch coverage at 1:00am CST on March 11th.

Directly after STS-123 lands safely we will start our weekly live videocasts the following Thursday, March 27th, 2008. Time is TBD.

For now, sit back and enjoy watching the worlds most complex machine lift off in to space from the comfort of your own living room. In addition to the pre-show, live video and audio we will also have an open chat room where you can ask your questions or help other space flight newbies with some of the terms and acronyms. This is a place to learn and get excited about not only NASA space flights but all space travel and we welcome your questions, beginner or elite engineer!

UPDATE: The event is now live at the top of the page (pinned there during the coverage). Below you’ll find our live coverage from T-9 minutes through MECO.

Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch with a mission to the International Space Station on March 11th, 2008. While we may still be cleaning up a bit around here and waiting for some of the construction dust to settle, we will be covering the mission live starting at 1:00am CST until Endeavour lands.

The actual launch is slated to occur at 1:28am CST and has a 10 minute launch window. One of the most exciting and powerful things humans have ever done has been the launch of the space shuttle. Be sure to check back early Tuesday morning to watch this one live!