Piggyback Cross-Country Could Begin As Soon As Sunday

After landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on November 30, space shuttle Endeavour is about to make its cross-country journey back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Mounted on its modified Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, Endeavour is expected to begin its journey to Florida as early as Sunday. The exact date and time of departure have yet to be determined because of changing weather conditions and the fluid nature of preparing Endeavour for this ferry flight.

At the moment, NASA has not published the planned route for Endeavour's trip... but the agency says it will provide updates on a regular basis on its Web site. NASA also notes strict flight weather restrictions may cause unexpected changes to the flight path and arrival time of the shuttle in Florida.

During their 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles, the STS-126 crew conducted important repair work and prepared the International Space Station to house six crew members on long-duration missions beginning next year.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle