Endeavor Ready to Take-Off This Weekend

Space geeks rejoice: NASA’s third shuttle launch this year is nearing blast-off. The Endeavor, which will travel to the International Space Station to deliver the last pieces of the billion-dollar Japanese Kibo lab, is scheduled to launch this Saturday. Launch time has been set for 7:17 a.m from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Endeavor’s launch will commence the 16-day STS-127 mission, the prime objective of which is delivering an experiment platform to be attached to Kibo’s outer hull. The platform will allow the Kibo crew to conduct its experiments within the harsh conditions of exposed space. The seven-member crew, who arrived Monday at the launch site, will take part in five separate spacewalks to attach the hull after arriving at the International Space Station two days after launch. So far, it appears that they’ll be clear to go as the weather is predicted at an 80% chance of clear conditions. This is good because there’s a short three-day window to get the shuttle into space; otherwise, the mission will get pushed back for several weeks. [via MSNBC and NASA] [Photo: Jurvetson]