Sunday, March 09, 2008

Space Shuttle Endeavour’s STS-123 Mission officially set for launch after getting "go" from NASA's Mission Management Team on Sunday

About Photo: From the left (front row) are Pilot Gregory Johnson and Commander Dominic Gorie. From the left (back row) are mission specialists Richard Linnehan, Robert Behnken, Garrett Reisman, Michael Foreman and Takao Doi, a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut.
Photo Credit: NASA
*************************************************
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Space Shuttle Endeavour’s STS-123 mission is officially set for launch after getting the "go" from NASA's Mission Management Team on Sunday.
Liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is scheduled for 2:28 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 11th.

LeRoy Cain, chair for the team, stated that the countdown to liftoff is proceeding smoothly. "I’m happy to report that the mission management team is not working any issues or constraints to launch." said Cain.

Endeavour's go for launch clears STS-123's seven astronauts to start final preparations for their mission. Over the next few days, the crew will be busy double-checking equipment, rehearsing procedures and looking forward to an exciting trip into space.

At 6 a.m. Monday the gantry-like rotating service structure, which provides easy access and weather protection for Endeavour, will be retracted.

The current weather forecast calls for only a 10 percent chance atmospheric conditions will delay the launch, with the primary concern coming from a slight chance of a low cloud ceiling around Kennedy.

The flight is commanded by Dominic Gorie with Gregory H. Johnson serving as Pilot. The crew also includes Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.

The crew will deliver the first section of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system called Dextre.

STS-123 is an international mission combining the expertise and experience of several countries working together to create a working 'home' in space.

Taken from an update on the NASA.gov website
Photo Credit: NASA

No comments: