Astronauts arrive at pad for space shuttle launch

Anonymous The San Marcos Record Sun Jul 12, 2009, 03:37 PM CDT

Cape Canaveral, Fla. — Seven astronauts arrived at their launching pad Sunday for an early evening flight aboard space shuttle Endeavour, bound for the international space station after a month's delay.

NASA was hoping thunderstorms would stay away. Forecasters said there was a 70 percent chance the weather would cooperate.

"Look at that!" astronaut David Wolf said, pointing up at the sunshine with both hands.

It was NASA's fourth attempt to send Endeavour on a space station construction mission. Saturday's try was foiled by a series of lightning strikes around the pad that required extra checks of the many critical shuttle systems. Back in June, hydrogen gas leaks held everything up.

No leaks popped up this time, thanks to all the repairs, as NASA fueled Endeavour's external tank for the planned 7:13 p.m. liftoff. The tight plumbing allowed commander Mark Polansky and his crew to board the shuttle for the first time for a real launch try. None of the previous countdowns got that far.

The astronauts grinned, waved and gave a thumbs-up as they headed to the pad.

Endeavour holds the third and final segment of Japan's enormous $1 billion space station lab, named Kibo, or Hope. It's a porch for experiments that need to be exposed to the vacuum of space. The shuttle also is loaded with large spare parts for the space station and hundreds of pounds of food for the six station residents.

When the shuttle astronauts arrive at the space station, it will make for the biggest crowd ever in a single place in orbit: 13 people.

All of the major space station partners will be represented: the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan.

An estimated 60 Japanese were on hand for Sunday's launch attempt, a considerably smaller group than back in mid-June for NASA's initial tries.

One of the Americans flying up on Endeavour will trade places with the lone Japanese on the space station, who has been on board since March.

Endeavour will spend nearly two weeks at the space station. In all, the flight will last 16 days. Five spacewalks are planned to hook up the Japanese lab's new porch, replace space station batteries and perform other maintenance.

Eight shuttle flights remain, including this one, all involving space station work.

___

Text Only

Associated Press Stories

BP yet to make call on latest bid to stop Gulf oil
BP's latest experimental bid to plug its seabed oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico hung in the balance early Wednesday as its top executive reviewed overnight tests before deciding whether to go ahead.

May 26, 2010
Space shuttle Atlantis close to 120,000 miles
Space shuttle Atlantis closed in on the 120 million-mile mark as its final voyage neared an end and its astronauts inspected their ship in advance of Wednesday's landing.

May 24, 2010
Cleaning oil-soaked wetlands may be impossible
May 24, 2010
Frustration mounts as oil seeps into Gulf wetlands
Anger grew along the Gulf Coast as an ooze of oil washed into delicate coastal wetlands in Louisiana, with many wondering how to clean up the monthlong mess — especially now that BP's latest try to plug the blown-out well won't happen until at least Tuesday.

May 24, 2010
Austin legislative hearing on Texas budget woes
May 11, 2010
Texas could adjust 22-student class limit
Some legislators want to look at adjusting the 22-student class-size limit for lower grades as Texas faces an estimated $11 billion budget shortfall going into the 2011 session.

May 10, 2010
Barrier-breaking jazz star Lena Horne dies at 92
Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to Broadway superstardom, has died. She was 92.

May 10, 2010
BP struggles with list of ways to plug Gulf gusher
Top hats and junk shots are on the list of possible next steps as BP, casting about after a 100-ton containment box failed, settles in for a long fight to stop its uncontrolled oil gusher a mile under the Gulf of Mexico.

May 10, 2010
Ala. researchers find oil chunks approaching coast
Dauphin Island Sea Lab researchers say they believe parts of the oil slick are closer to the northern Gulf coast than previously thought.

May 8, 2010
Bubble of methane triggered rig blast
The deadly blowout of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico was triggered by a bubble of methane gas that escaped from the well and shot up the drill column, expanding quickly as it burst through several seals and barriers before exploding, according to interviews with rig workers conducted during BP's internal investigation.

May 8, 2010
More Associated Press Stories Headlines

Associated Press Stories

Search Results

Related Links

Astronauts arrive at pad for space shuttle launch

Site Map

Contact Us