Managers Recommend Launch To ISS November 14

Following an extensive two-day meeting, Space Shuttle Program managers decided Wednesday to recommend to senior NASA managers next week that space shuttle Endeavour is ready to support its target launch date of November 14.

A final meeting, called the Flight Readiness Review, will be held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on October 30-31 to officially set a launch date.

In the meantime, workers at Kennedy may get a head start on moving Endeavour to Launch Pad 39A. Although the move was first scheduled to take place Saturday, an inclement weather forecast convinced managers to try to roll Endeavour from pad B to pad A on Thursday at 0800 instead.

Early Thursday morning, NASA managers will decide when to move the shuttle based on the progress of removing the payload canister from the pad following installation into the pad’s changeout room and a good weather forecast.

The cargo module called Leonardo (shown below) was moved to Launch Pad 39A early Wednesday morning at Kennedy in preparation for loading it into Endeavour’s payload bay. Leonardo has been stocked with about 19,000 pounds of equipment and supplies that will set the stage for enlarging the crew size aboard the International Space Station.

Endeavour's seven astronauts are in NASA's Johnson Space Center's virtual reality lab practicing robotics operations, including returning Leonardo to the shuttle's payload bay.

FMI: www.nasa.gov