Crew Scheduled To Return To Houston Friday

The six members of the STS-130 crew climbed aboard space shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Thursday for a complete launch countdown simulation right up to the point of liftoff. The astronauts then completed their prelaunch training at Kennedy with a bench review of flight crew equipment and were scheduled to fly back to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston Friday.

Launch teams at the pad conducted a walkdown of the shuttle to ensure there was no damage from the unusually icy weather conditions experienced last week. They also will continue testing and maintenance until liftoff.

Endeavour is targeted to launch at 0439 EST February 7 on a mission to deliver the Italian-built Tranquility with its attached cupola to the International Space Station.

On January 27, an executive-level Flight Readiness Review meeting will be held at Kennedy to assess the readiness of the shuttle, flight crew and payloads to proceed with the countdown. The official launch date will be set at the review and announced during a press briefing following the meeting.

FMI: www.nasa.gov