NASA Clears Endeavour for Launch Tonight

Several lightning strikes which hit the launch pad creating a high voltage surge to a few electrical systems on Friday are not of concern to NASA and the Mission Management Team this morning as they clear Endeavour for her liftoff tonight.

Endeavour's crew of seven includes commander and station veteran Mark "Roman" Polansky, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists David A. Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Timothy Kopra and Julie Payette (Canadian Space Agency).

The crew awoke at 8:15 am this morning and had their breakfast. At 9:10 am, commander Polansky reported to SpaceLaunchNews.com, "Just got the word that we are GO to fuel the external tank. Hope that today is the day! Watching the Tour de France at the moment".

Here are a few launch Events (EDT):

• 9:48a - T-:06 hours and counting
• 9:48a - External tank fueling begins
• 1:00p - ET fueling complete
• 2:53p - Crew begins donning flight suits
• 3:23p - Crew departs for Launch Pad 39A
• 3:55p - Crew begins boarding Endeavour
• 6:19p - T-:9 minutes and Holding (40 mins)
• 7:08p - Pilot performs APU start
• 7:13:55p - Solid Rocket Boosters ignite... Launch!
• 7:16:04p - SRB seperation
• 7:22:25p - MECO - Endeavour's enginges shutdown

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