NASA managers completed a review Wednesday, June 3, of space shuttle Endeavour’s readiness for flight, and they selected June 13 as the official launch date for the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Commander Mark Polansky and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Endeavour’s launch date was announced following a daylong Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined that the shuttle’s equipment, support systems, and procedures are ready for flight.
The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.
The STS-127 crew members are Polansky; Pilot Doug Hurley; Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, and Tim Kopra; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a 3-month stay at the station.
