Space

Kibo Loaded in Endeavor's Shuttle Bay. Ready for Launch

Liftoff expected on Tuesday

By Gabriel Gache, Science News Editor

8th of March 2008, 09:16 GMT

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The first section of the massive space laboratory Kibo has been loaded into the shuttle bay of the space shuttle in anticipation for the launch scheduled for Tuesday. JAXA's Kibo space laboratory consists of three sections, and once in space, it will be docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station. NASA meteorologists attribute a chance of 90 percent for launch to the attempt on Tuesday, as a result of the perfect weather conditions experienced yesterday in Florida.

Endeavor, carrying out its 21st flight, is expected to launch on the 11th of March

from the Kennedy Space Center sometime around 2:28 a.m. EDT, making this the shortest period of time between two missions ever since the Columbia disaster in 2003. The space shuttle Atlantis has returned from its mission in space less than three weeks ago, during which time it delivered the European space laboratory Columbus, to the ISS.

In addition to the tight space program through which NASA is going at this moment, there will also be problems if Endeavor doesn't lift off as scheduled. In the next week, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station also has scheduled the launch of a spacecraft, this time a Global Positioning System. The Delta rocket carrying the satellite should launch on 15 March, however in case Endeavor experiences any delay, the launch of the Delta rocket will automatically get priority.

The mission will take place on a span of 16 days, and will start with the docking of the Kibo, followed by the attachment of a Canadian-built robot to the exterior of the International Space Station, in order to help with maintenance. Also, the mission will contain an experiment specially designed to test a heat shield repair technique. Due to a heat shield failure, seven people have died during the re-entry phase of the space shuttle Columbia.

During liftoff, a piece of foam the size of a small briefcase detached from the external fuel tank of the space shuttle and hit the left wing, creating a gap 30 centimeters and so in diameter, enough to weaken the structure of the spacecraft, which caused a total disintegration. In the 12 days in which Endeavor will remain attached to the ISS, five spacewalks are scheduled, plus the replacement of astronaut Leopold Eyharts with Garrett Reiman.

TAGS:

Endeavor | Kibo | ISS | JAXA | liftoff

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