By DPA
Washington : The last time space shuttle Endeavour flew to the International Space Station (ISS) was November 2002 – the last mission before the accident that destroyed shuttle Columbia in February 2003, killing seven astronauts including Indian born Kalpana Chawla.
Since the tragedy, Endeavour has remained on the ground – a time US space agency NASA used to outfit the shuttle with all available safeguards. Now the newly equipped Endeavour is getting ready for its premiere.
If the weather cooperates, Endeavour will launch at 6.36 p.m. (2236 GMT) Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The first minor bump-in-the-road came this week: the take-off was postponed by one day over a cabin leak. NASA said it detected a faulty pressure relief valve and replaced the valve with an intact one from shuttle Atlantis.
Seven astronauts will take part in the 11-day mission, which will be commanded by Scott Kelly. At first glance the mission doesn’t appear as spectacular as the most recent flights of the space shuttles Atlantis and Discovery.
There’s a mixture of things, according to NASA: expansion and repair of the ISS and delivery of supplies. Unloading the 2.5 tonnes of supplies – including spare parts, clothing, food, medicine and scientific experiments – is expected to take about 100 working hours.
The Endeavour crew is supposed to attach a new 2.5-tonne starboard-side solar-panel segment for the main truss on the ISS. The segment – officially called S5 but lovingly nicknamed Stubby by the astronauts – will be joined in January 2009 with a segment holding the last pair of solar panels.
The seven US astronauts for the first time will not be under the usual time pressure to complete their tasks. The Endeavour is the first shuttle that can tap into the energy power system of the ISS, thanks to the work of earlier missions.
That means that if anything does not go as expected or should another repair be necessary, mission control in Houston can add three extra days and a fourth space walk without a problem. When the last pair of solar panels gets in place, shuttles will be able to stay in space six days longer than before.
Three of Endeavour’s crewmembers are taking to space for the first time, but all eyes are on astronaut Barbara Morgan, who does not have the typical career as a fighter pilot under her belt.
Morgan is a teacher. She has gone through an emotional experience at NASA and now stands at the climax of her more than 20-year association with the agency.
Morgan was the backup for Christa McAuliffe, who was selected to fly on the shuttle under the Teacher in Space programme. The programme was founded in 1984 to inspire schoolchildren’s interest in science and space flight, and Morgan trained side by side with McAuliffe.
But the programme ended after McAuliffe died on Jan 28, 1986, along with six fellow crewmembers when the shuttle Challenger exploded. Despite the programme’s suspension, ties between NASA and Morgan, now 55, remained intact.
In 1998, NASA gave Morgan the chance to become an astronaut and she met the challenge. She will fly with Endeavour as the successor to her friend McAuliffe.
Morgan’s work schedule differs from that of the other crewmembers. She will be the first to give a class from the ISS, an event that NASA hopes, as it did with McAuliffe’s flight, will inspire schoolchildren and youths.