Endeavour STS 130 mission cleared for Feb 7 launch

The Endeavour space shuttle is getting ready for a predawn launch attempt on 7February on its STS-130 mission to the International Space Station, Nasa has confirmed. This will be Endeavour’s last nighttime shuttle launch before the fleet retires.

Pic: STS-130 Endeavour mission insignia

The NASA managers have done a comprehensive executive-level flight readiness review and given a go-ahead for the space shuttle. It will depart from its last flight from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A at 4.39. The countdown for the STS-130 mission will begin at 2 am EST on February 4.

Endeavour will be launched on 13-day mission to the International Space Station and will mark the first of a final five space station assembly flights before the fleet’s retirement that comprise Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, later this year. Four more flights will follow to complete the $100 billion orbital outpost before this year ends – a project of 16 nations.

Endeavour’s STS-130  mission includes three spacewalks by its members and the delivery of the space stations last US portion, which will add more room for crew. This will assist in the installation process of the shuttle’s valuable payload.

“We reviewed all aspects of the shuttle and the space station,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, chief of space flight operations. “It was an extremely thorough review. We set the launch date for February 7 at 4:39 and so far, things look pretty good.” He described the 13-day mission as a “really complicated” one. Mike Leinbach, the launch director said that Endeavour’s processing was smooth and is in “outstanding shape”.

“We have a good, low constraints count now in the firing room, so really in great shape there, “ he added, while talking to the press. Commander George Zamka, pilot Terry Virts, Kathryn Hire, flight engineer Stephen Robinson, and spacewalkers Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick plan to dock with the International Space Station two days after the launch, at around 1:23 am on February 9.

In the STS-130 flight, the new Tranquility module or node 3 will be attached to the left side of the lab complex to keep life support gear, exercise equipment and a robotics workstation. Three spacewalks have been planned before undocking on February 17. Endeavour should land back at the Kennedy Space Center around 11:16 pm on February 19.

“Node 3 is probably the last of the very complicated modules that’ll have its own cooling system and be the home of all the regenerative (environmental control and life support) systems as well as some other critical systems that support the crew on orbit,” said Mike Suffredini, station program manager.

The astronauts will attach Tranquility to the left port of the central Unity module. But before that engineers want to first get run time on a new urine processor system distillation assembly being ferried up aboard Endeavour.

The station’s urine processing system, which converts urine into ultra-pure water for drinking, crew hygiene, and oxygen generation, has been shut down in recent weeks because of problems with a critical distillation assembly. More recently, blockage in a line knocked out the part of the system that converts condensate into clean water.

“Through a failure investigation, we found calcium deposits inside the distillation assembly and we’re doing quite a bit of investigation to determine how to prevent that in the future,” said Suffredini.

“That will take us almost the entire mission. That’s what’s driving us not to do the rest of the rack moves until the urine processor can move,” he added.

According to NASA, the Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis will be retired before the close of the year and attached to purchase prices of around $29 million USD each. Space Shuttle Discovery will be transferred to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington.