14 DAY TRIAL // The planned February 7, pre-dawn launch of space shuttle Endeavor appears to be on course, officials at the American space agency announced yesterday. The countdown is proceeding smoothly, and chances are high that the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) will experience good weather throughout the day. If that is indeed the case, then the last planned nighttime launch of a shuttle will be clearly visible from many regions of the United States East Coast, Space reports. The KSC weather office revealed that there was an 80 percent chance of good weather for Sunday morning.
Currently, lift-off is scheduled to take place at 4:39 am EST (0939 GMT), from Launch Pad 39A, at the KSC. This is the only remaining pad that can support the shuttles, with the 39B having been converted to support the ARES I and the ARES I-X test vehicle. However, with Project Constellation now canceled, the faith of the other pad is in doubt. After the final five shuttle missions conclude, later this autumn, the KSC will be left without a goal, in the sense that all the facilities which helped support the space fleet will have nothing else to do, except help remove all toxic substances from the shuttles, and then send them to their final resting places, in museums across the US.
“Every launch is a little bittersweet because it's one closer to the end,” says the NASA shuttle integration manager, Mike Moses, during a briefing held yesterday morning. He also added that everything was shaping up nicely for the upcoming launch, and that all systems were prepared and ready to go. The new flight, dubbed STS-130, carries small amounts of supplies to the ISS, but packs the newest addition, the Tranquility module, in its cargo bay. This facility will serve as a new storage , training and living headquarters for the ISS crew, Space reports.
In addition to this module, also known as Node 3, Endeavor will also be carrying the Cupola, which is a seven-windowed structure, that will be affixed to one of the docking ports on Noder 3. This will form a great observations post, which will help astronauts aboard the orbital facility better take handle the station's robotic arms. The Cupola will also provide a wonderful view of the planet, and will additionally help guide unmanned cargo capsules such as the Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle (HTV) to their respective docking berths on the lab. This capsule, for example, features no automatic docking system.