Fri, Feb 29, 2008
STS-123 Mission Will Install First Part Of Kibo Lab, Canada's
Dextre Arms
NASA senior managers completed a review Friday of space shuttle
Endeavour's readiness for flight and selected March 11 as the
official launch date for the STS-123 mission. Commander Dominic
Gorie and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off to the
International Space Station at 0228 EDT.
During the 16-day mission, the crew will deliver and install the
first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo
laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic
system, Dextre. Five spacewalks will be conducted during the
flight.
Endeavour's launch date was announced after the conclusion of
Friday's Flight Readiness Review. During the two-day meeting, top
NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the
mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and
procedures are ready for flight.
Gorie will be joined on STS-123 by Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and
Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan,
Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.
Reisman will remain on the station as a resident crew member,
replacing station flight engineer Leopold Eyharts of the European
Space Agency, who will return home on Endeavour. If that timeframe
holds, Eyharts will have spent just six weeks onboard the orbiting
station.
As ANN reported, he arrived
at the station in early February, onboard the shuttle Atlantis --
which had its launch delayed by over two months due to a technical
issues with problematic fuel sensor connections.
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