SPACE WIRE
Endeavour blasts off on a mission to International Space Station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) Nov 24, 2002
After several delays and last minute cancellations, the US space shuttle Endeavour blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center Saturday in a flawless start of its mission to the International Space Station.

The shuttle carrying seven astronauts, took off at 7:50 pmSunday), and reached orbit after eight minutes and 30 seconds.

Flight managers hailed the launch as flawless.

"This is a perfect ascent for Endeavour," said George Diller, a commentator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Endeavour's launch was initially scheduled for November 11, but a leak in a pipe carrying oxygen to the cabin of the spacecraft forced NASA to scrub it.

Meanwhile, Friday's launch was put off because of poor weather over Spain, venue of two emergency landing sites to be used should the shuttle run into trouble.

The storms that soaked both Spanish airstrips had threatened to ground the shuttle again Saturday but NASA decided to proceed with the launch amid indications the weather over one of the emergency landing sites was improving.

The emergency airstrips would only be used if the shuttle developed engine trouble or failed to attain sufficient altitude following liftoff.

This mission will combine construction work on the ISS with a crew rotation.

In addition to its normal crew, Endeavour will be carrying three astronauts to the station, replacing three others who will return to earth with the shuttle on November 21.

The new ISS crew members are two Americans: Commander Kenneth Bowersox and astronaut Donald Pettit, and Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin.

They will be the first humans to live on the station for more than four months without a visitor.

The space shuttle Atlantis, scheduled to be used for the next voyage to the ISS will not call with a fresh rotation crew before next March.

The only space vehicle expected in the interim is a Russian re-fueling rig, Progress-10, scheduled for the end of February.

When Endeavour arrives at the ISS, astronauts will begin preparing for three spacewalks to carry out assembly work, the first of which will take place Tuesday.

US astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington will perform the spacewalks, in a shuttle journey led by commander Jim Wetherbee, and co-pilot Paul Lockhart, both from the United States.

Using the station's robotic arm, they will put in place a huge beam, to form part of the ISS cooling system being assembled in shifts as shuttles transport the parts up to the space station.

The beam going up this time weighs 11,340 kilos (12.5 tonnes) and will be fixed on by the station's robotic arm. It was manufactured by Boeing at a cost of 390 million dollars.

The beam will lengthen, by 14 meters (yards) the backbone of the ISS which, when completed, will measure more than 100 meters and be capable of supporting some 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet) of solar panels that will supply the station's energy.

The beam will also be equipped with a small gondola, affixed to rails, that will allow the astronauts to transport materials around the ISS during their work on the station's exterior.

Another such gondola is already in place.

The Endeavour mission is the fourth in a year equipped for construction of the giant orbiting ISS, which has taken on more than 45 tons of gear this year, said NASA program director Ron Dittemore.

Russian commander Valeri Korzun, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Trechtchev and US astronaut Peggy Whitson currently aboard the ISS will return to Earth after being at the space station since June 5.

Endeavour is scheduled to return to Cape Canaveral by December 4.

SPACE.WIRE