Space shuttle moves to launch pad
Space shuttle Endeavour arrived at its launch pad early Wednesday for a flight to send teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan and six crewmates to the international space station.
It`s been a nearly five-year wait for Endeavour, and the shuttle has nothing on Morgan: She`s been waiting 22 years.
In 1985, Morgan was picked as Christa McAuliffe`s backup to become the first teacher in space under a special NASA program. Then the shuttle Challenger carrying McAuliffe exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986, and Morgan returned to teaching. In 1998, she was selected as a full-fledged astronaut.
On her first mission, set for August, Morgan will operate the shuttle`s robotic arm, coordinate the transfer of cargo and talk from space to students at three schools, if the mission is extended. The shuttle crew will also deliver a new truss segment, 5,000 pounds of cargo and fix a gyroscope which helps control the station`s position.
"It has a little bit of everything," said Matt Abbott, lead shuttle flight director.
Endeavour`s 3.4-mile journey aboard the massive crawler-transporter from the Vehicle Assembly Building took seven hours, getting the shuttle to its launch pad shortly after 3 a.m. It was a day late because the weather had nixed plans to move it early Tuesday.
Its launch is scheduled for Aug. 7 as NASA`s second shuttle flight this year.
The last time Endeavour was at the launch pad was in November 2002, before its launch on a construction mission to the space station. It was the last shuttle flight before the Columbia disaster killed seven astronauts and grounded the space shuttle program for 2 1/2 years.
Endeavour has since undergone a major tune-up. The shuttle`s structure was inspected for corrosion. Filter and seals were replaced. More than 1,900 thermal blankets were examined, and two windows were replaced with thicker panes.
"We`re really excited to have Endeavour fly again," Kim Doering, NASA`s deputy manager of the space shuttle program, said Tuesday. "Obviously, having brand new belts and hoses and having just checked the structure and replaced all the tiles - they`re brand new - makes this a very nice vehicle to climb on to."
Endeavour also has a new system which allows power from the space station to be transferred to the shuttle while docked. If the new system works properly, the 11-day mission will be extended by an extra three days.
|
