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Countdown underway for Thursday launch

For 9 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 17

All is well at the Kennedy Space Center as work continues toward launching shuttle Endeavour at 2:41 p.m. EDT Thursday.

On Monday the seven-member flight crew arrived at KSC in the morning, and then at 6 p.m. EDT the formal 43-hour countdown began.

There are no technical problems and the weather looks good, with a 90 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

For 9:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, April 18

Launch preparations are about two hours behind schedule this morning but that time should be made up by the end of the day.

Work fell behind yesterday when workers noticed an odor in Endeavour's crew cabin that smelled like some electronics were overheating. Officials say there wasn't actually smoke in the air. The problem was traced to a dimmer switch used to control lighting in the cockpit .

The switch was replaced and the new unit tested without incident, but the extra work did delay some hazardous operations that require the pad to be clear.

Meanwhile, no other technical issues have been reported and the weather forecasts continue to look favorable.

Mission managers are expected to meet later this afternoon to discuss their game plan should Endeavour not make it off the ground on Thursday because a delay in the shuttle launch might affect when the next Russian Soyuz taxi flight would be able to launch.

The possibilities are numerous and range from still allowing Endeavour to attempt a launch on Friday -- or even Saturday -- to delaying the shuttle mission to May so that the Soyuz flight can launch on time on April 28 and dock on April 30.

A complicating undercurrent to these operational considerations is the fact that the Soyuz taxi crew is expected to include American businessman Dennis Tito, whose presence on the Russian crew is being objected to by NASA and other International Space Station partners.

For 6 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 18

The countdown to launch of shuttle Endeavour on Thursday is continuing at the Kennedy Space Center with no new problems reported and the promise of nearly perfect weather.

The only meteorological concern: a slight possibilty of gusting crosswinds at the shuttle runway.

At the launch pad the Rotating Service Structure is scheduled to be moved away from the vehicle and parked within the next hour and then the next major activity is scheduled to begin about 5:15 a.m. EDT Thursday. That's when the shuttle's external tank is to be filled with its half-million gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.

Later in the morning the crew is to depart for the launch pad at 10:55 a.m. EDT. That would lead to a liftoff on time at 2:40:40 p.m. EDT.

For 9 a.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

Endeavour's external tank is filled to the brim with its half-million gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant and all continues to look good for a launch this afternoon from Kennedy Space Center.

Tanking officially began at 5:19 a.m. EDT today and was declared complete at 8:06 a.m. EDT, right on schedule.

The seven astronauts who will fly this 104th space shuttle mission are awake and will soon be donning their flight suits. The launch is coming at the end of their work day.

Their departure for launch pad 39A is scheduled at 10:55 a.m. EDT.

Meanwhile, activity around the space center is hopping as a near-record crowd for the launch is expected both on NASA property and off. Highways and causeways leading to and around the launch base already are busier than normal with traffic.

To deal with an estimated 20,000 guests on NASA property, security levels have been increased and visitors can expect more careful badge checks and additional random vehicle searches.

If you're in the Space Coast area with plans to watch the launch in person, now would be a good time to get in the car and claim your parking spot. Live updates via radio will be availble on WMMB 1240 AM and we will providing the station with live commentary at launch time.

For a map of good viewing spots, click here.

For 11:15 a.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

Endeavour's seven astronauts have arrived at launch pad 39A and have begun boarding the shuttle.

Commander Kent Rominger was first to crawl aboard NASA's newest shuttle, helped by a Kennedy Space Center ground support crew working in the cockpit.

The goal is to get all seven astronauts into their seats and safely strapped in place during the next hour.

As this is happening, the launch team is working through their procedures and monitoring the health of the shuttle and so far there are no problems reported.

Weather continues to look good. There are some scattered clouds drifting over the coast from the Atlantic Ocean but they appear to be dissipating soon after moving over land. Crosswinds remain a concern but overall there remains a 90 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

For 12:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

All seven astronauts are aboard shuttle Endeavour and the Kennedy Space Center ground support crew have closed the hatch to the orbiter and are in the process of locking and sealing the hatch at this hour.

Communication checks between the crew and the launch control and mission control centers are complete and went fine.

Once the hatch is verified locked for flight, the next step will be to test the crew cabin for air leaks.

So far everything continues to go well. There are no major technical or weather issues reported so far.

Liftoff remains on schedule for just before 2:41 p.m. EDT.

For 2:00 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

Weather continues to look good and the only technical issue mentioned so far today was quickly fixed without incident or delay.

The problem was with a microswitch that helps indicate whether the crew hatch is closed or open. It was not sending the correct signal but the trouble was corrected and the hatch is safely closed, locked and sealed for flight.

The exact launch time is expected to be 2:40:42 p.m. EDT and it will take the shuttle eight minutes and 31 seconds to reach orbit, firing its three liquid-fueled rocket engines and twin solid rocket boosters.

Should anything go wrong during the climb to orbit, Endeavour's crew will attempt landing either back here at the Kennedy Space Center or across the Atlantic at Moron, Spain.

Don't forget that you can watch live NASA TV coverage of the blast off and climb to orbit right here on SPACE.com.

For 2:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

With just 10 minutes to go before liftoff NASA managers have given Endeavour a formal "go for launch" and the countdown clocks are expected to pick up at 2:31:42 p.m. EDT leading to a launch nine minutes later.

During this final nine-minute countdown things get real busy, so much so that computers control the countdown from here to the end.

First a set of computers in the Launch Control Center take care of everything until T-minus 31 seconds, when the four computers inside Endeavour take control of the countdown. At anytime a computer or human can put a stop to the countdown if they see something unsafe.

Events during this final period include closing valves and pressurizing propellant tanks, final conditioning of the main engines before ignition and retraction of the swing arms leading to the orbiter's hatch and external tank.

For 2:41 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

We have liftoff!

Space Shuttle Endeavour with a crew of seven astronauts onboard are on their way into orbit. This phase of the mission will take about eight minutes and 31 seconds.

The shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters will fire for two minutes and three seconds and then be jettisoned to fall back into the Atlantic Ocean for retrieval, refurbishment and eventual re-use.

After booster separation Endeavour's three main liquid-fueled rocket engines will continue firing for another six minutes until the shuttle has reached orbital velocity of 17,500 mph.

With an ontime launch Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station about 9:28 a.m. EDT Saturday.

For 2:50 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

Endeavour's seven astronauts are safely in orbit today after an inspiring midday launch that was witnessed by near record crowds on and around the Kennedy Space Center.

Liftoff came right on time at 2:40:42 p.m. EDT.

Everything appeared to work as planned during the nearly nine-minute climb into orbit. Performance calls were nominal and there were no reports from the crew of any malfunctions.

Today's launch was the third for NASA's shuttle fleet this year and the 16th for Endeavour in its almost nine-year lifetime.

With this ontime launch Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station about 9:28 a.m. EDT Saturday.

For 6 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 19

After a safe launch from Kennedy Space Center the crew of shuttle Endeavour was given a go to remain in space and set up shop for the 11-day mission ahead.

As of this hour the crew have circularized their orbit and opened Endeavour's payload bay doors. Other routine post-launch work has been done and the seven astronauts soon will be heading to bed.

Another maneuver to help set up Saturday's rendezvous with the space station is planned within the hour, but otherwise things are very quiet in space following a nearly troublefree countdown and basically perfect blast off.

Stay tuned to this page for the latest updates throughout the flight.

For 11 a.m. EDT Friday, April 20

From NASA:

The crew of the shuttle Endeavour worked this morning to prepare for its Saturday docking with the International Space Station and for the two planned spacewalks while there. The chase to catch up with the waiting station and its Expedition Two crew continues with another in the series of rendezvous maneuvers scheduled for about 5:30 this morning.

Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the station at 8:36 Saturday morning to deliver the Canadian built high tech robotic arm, called Canadarm2 and the Raffaello Multipurpose Logistics Module supplied to the program by the Italian Space Agency. Raffaello contains equipment and supplies for the station and its crew of Commander Yury Usachev, and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms. It also brings two new experiment racks for the stations U.S. laboratory Destiny.

The Endeavour crew, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency and Yuri Lonchakov of Rosaviakosmos were awakened at 2:41 a.m. Friday by Then the Morning Comes by the musical group Smashmouth. It was chosen for Phillips, making his first spaceflight.

Today the shuttle crew will checkout three spacesuits and the orbiters robotic arm while rendezvous preparations include installation of the centerline camera and extension of Endeavours Orbital Docking System ring. Another rendezvous engine burn is scheduled shortly before the crew finishes todays activities.

Space station crewmembers also will get ready for the rendezvous. Later today they will prepare equipment for transfer to the shuttle shortly after docking.

Endeavour will bring the first visitors to the Expedition Two crew since Discoverys departure last month. Shortly after Endeavours scheduled undocking and departure from the station on April 28, a taxi crew is to arrive with a new Soyuz spacecraft. It will replace the Soyuz, which launched the first crew toward the station on Oct. 31, 2000. The Soyuz capsule has an on-orbit life of about six months.

Hadfield and Parazynski will conduct two spacewalks on Sunday and Tuesday. The first will focus on installation of the 2-ton, 57-foot-long Canadarm2. The second is devoted to checkout of the arm that will be instrumental in future space station assembly.

Major systems aboard Endeavour and the International Space Station continue to function well.