Washington, Jan 28 (DPA) The space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to blast off Feb 7 in the shuttle programme’s final night launch, as the US space agency prepares to retire the ageing fleet.
Endeavour is set to launch before dawn on a 13-day mission, NASA said Wednesday after a flight readiness evaluation. The mission is the first of five final flights before the shuttle programme ends in September.
NASA is focused on completing and supplying the ISS before losing the shuttle, which is the only craft capable of ferrying large equipment into space.
Endeavour will carry the final module of the US portion of the station. The piece, known as Tranquility, will give astronauts more room aboard the ISS and houses a robotic control station and windows that give a panoramic view of Earth. The ISS will be 90 percent complete with the addition of Tranquility.
Three spacewalks are planned for the mission.
The launch is set for 4.39 a.m.
