14 DAY TRIAL // On Sunday, NASA's engineers managed to successfully move the space shuttle Endeavor from one Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch pad to the other, in an eight-hour trek that marked the beginning of preparations for the craft's June 13th planned spaceflight to the International Space Station. Until yesterday, the craft was prepped on Launch Pad 39B, where it formed the STS-400 rescue mission. In the even that something went wrong with shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, Endeavor would have been scrambled to assist. Since everything was clear, the shuttle will now resume normal operations.
Despite the fact that the two launch pads are just one mile (1.6 kilometers) apart from each other, the shuttle took a 3.4-mile (5.4-kilometer) path connecting the two, hence the long drive time. The 100-ton orbiter was carried on top of the Crawler-Transport vehicle, the second largest tracked vehicle in the world. It finally reached its destination at 11:42 am EDT (1542 GMT). Flight engineers will begin making the final preparations for the planned flight, although concerns that it may be delayed exist.
Endeavor's move from Launch Pad 39B also marks the last time a space shuttle was ever docked on the facility, NASA officials said. With the shuttle moved, modifications to the pad can now be made, so that it could accommodate the ARES I-X test flight prototype. All shuttle missions from now to the end of 2010, when the three-vessel fleet is scheduled to be retired, will launch from Launch Pad 39A, as the other one will have to undergo extensive modifications in order to be able to handle ARES. The rocket is significantly different from the shuttle delivery systems, and needs a special pad just for it.
During their STS-127 mission, the seven-astronaut crew of space shuttle Endeavor will deliver the final two components of the Japanese Experiment Module. They will install the Exposed Facility (JEM EF), and the Exposed Section of the Experiment Logistics Module (ELM-ES), and will do all of that in five spacewalks. Mark L. Polansky will be the commander of the crew for this mission, while Douglas G. Hurley has been assigned as pilot. Mission specialists include Christopher J. Cassidy, Canadian Space Agency's Julie Payette, David A. Wolf, Thomas H. Marshburn, and Timothy Kopra.
In addition to the maintenance work they will perform on the ISS, the crew will also replace Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, whose mission on the station is coming to an end, with Timothy Kopra, who will be a part of the newly formed Expedition 20 crew for the next three months, Space reports.