13 Astronauts Will Be On Board ISS

Prelaunch activities remain on schedule at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the agency prepares for liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour on its STS-127 mission, a 16-day flight to the International Space Station.

As Endeavour's three fuel cells are loaded with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the mission management team will meet for a final review of the shuttle's preparedness for launch. The crew, meanwhile, will conduct flight plan reviews, and Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy and Julie Payette will conduct flights in T-38 training jets.

The mission management team also says the spacecraft is good to go. "We're in really good shape to fly," Mike Moses, chairman of the mission management team said. The team carefully reviewed the spacecraft to make sure nothing was overlooked since the launch comes only a few weeks after the end of the STS-125 mission.

The countdown for Saturday morning's launch at 7:17 continues on pace, said Launch Director Pete Nickolenko.

"We're not tracking any issues," Nickolenko said.

Endeavour's crew is to perform 5 space walks to install a platform to one end of the Japanese Kibo laboratory on the station. The platform will hold experiments designed to work outside the protective confines of the station.

With 7 Endeavour crew members and the 6 ISS permanent crew, the station may feel a bit crowded. It's the largest number of people ever to be on the station at one time. "We’ll have 13 people aboard the ISS. That will be a first, and that will be quite an experience,” Kirk Shireman, the space station’s deputy program manager, told Florida TV station Central Florida 13. “The crew is looking forward to this, and we’re looking forward to it here on the ground.”

FMI: www.nasa.gov