STS-130 Astronauts Begin Training

Yesterday, the six astronauts that will make up the crew of space shuttle Endeavor during the February STS-130 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) arrived in Florida. They are scheduled to enter a training period, during which time they will become accustomed to the specifications of the new mission, and proficient in using all the tools they will have at their disposal during the flight. Endeavor is scheduled to take off on February 7, from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

The six crew members will spend the next weeks practicing take-off and landing procedures, as well as a number of other drills and exercises that are required to ensure that everything goes according to plan. As they do so, engineers continue their work on Endeavor's precious cargo, the Node 3 module. They need to replace some ammonia hoses, which gave away a few days ago. As they are custom-built, everything needs to be started from scratch, and experts are still unsure whether they will be able to keep the take-off deadline or not, Space reports.

“We just flew over Endeavor over the pad here and she looks beautiful. We can't wait to borrow her for a couple of weeks,” astronaut and STS-130 mission specialist Stephen Robinson said upon arrival on KSC's tarmac. The shuttle is scheduled to spend some 13 days in space, during which time it will deliver the new Node 3, called Tranquility, to the ISS. In addition, a seven-windowed dome known as the Cupola will also be carried to low-Earth orbit. Its purpose is to provide astronauts working on the orbital facility with a panoramic view of how they handle the station's robotic arms. After the retirement of the shuttles, scheduled for September 2010, these arms will play an increasingly vital role, ISS mission managers have said repeatedly.

According to sources at NASA, the February 7 launch, which will take place at 4:39 am EST (0939 GMT), will be the last time ever that a space shuttle takes off during the night. It will also mark the first of the last five flights of the aging shuttle fleet. However, engineers in charge of taking care of the three orbiters say that there is nothing to worry about at this point, in terms of flight security. “Endeavor has been a great vehicle. And it sounds like it's in great shape,” George Zamlka, STS-130 shuttle commander, told reporters on Monday.