Space Shuttle Astronauts Arrive in Florida for Next Mission
Posted on: Saturday, 8 March 2008, 08:01 CST
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Endeavour astronauts dodged Florida rainstorms early today to reach the Kennedy Space Center, where NASA started the countdown for their marathon assembly mission to the international space station.
Endeavour's liftoff is scheduled for Tuesday at 1:28 a.m. CDT.
Shuttle commander Dom Gorie and his six crewmates have trained for a 16-day mission, the longest shuttle construction flight to the orbital base to date. They've prepared to deliver the first segment of a Japanese science module as well as a Canadian robotic device.
On Friday, forecasters offered a 90 percent chance of favorable weather for the launch of the space agency's second shuttle mission of 2008.
However, stormy weather prevailed early today as Endeavour's astronauts flew from Houston, where they train at NASA's Johnson Space Center, to the Florida shuttleport. Bands of heavy rain and the threat of severe weather delayed their flight to Florida aboard a space agency training jet by more than four hours.
"We have a very ambitious mission ahead of us," said Gorie, as the astronauts finally stepped from their plane to the Kennedy runway. "I think once we get this weather done with today, we will have a nice shot at launching this week."
Gorie's crew includes pilot Gregory H. Johnson. Rick Linnehan, Robert Behnken, Mike Foreman, Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.
The shuttle crew has trained for five spacewalks during their marathon flight.
If the astronauts are successful, they will add the first piece of Japanese hardware to an orbital outpost that already includes contributions from 10 European nations as well as the United States, Russia and Canada.
The countdown for Tuesday's liftoff got under way today at 2 a.m. CST.
On Friday, the space agency said Endeavour was in good shape to begin the mission. However, engineers were evaluating an inactive amplifier in the ship's UHF communications system.
The problem was not expected to impact the launch plans, said NASA test director Steve Payne, one of those supervising countdown activities.
The shuttle is equipped with backup radio gear, Payne said.
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Source: Houston Chronicle
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