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NASA sets launch date
Update for Thursday, Nov. 15, 2001 at 6 p.m. EDT

NASA officials meeting at the Kennedy Space Center have officially set Nov. 29 as the launch date for space shuttle Endeavour's trip to the International Space Station.

The countdown is expected to begin on Monday, Nov. 26.

The four-member STS-108 shuttle crew and three-member Expedition 4 station crew are scheduled to fly to KSC on Sunday, Nov. 25.

Beginning with crew arrival, look to this page for the most immediate updates and links to the latest stories and other features about this final shuttle mission of the year 2001.

The six astronauts and one cosmonaut scheduled to launch aboard shuttle Endeavour on Thursday have safely arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, flying here in their T-38 training jets from Houston.

The STS-108 and Expedition 4 crews showed up at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport about 4:45 p.m. EST Sunday and offered a few words of thanks to news media who showed up to greet them, as well as pleas for good weather on launch day and well wishes to friends and family.

The standard three-day countdown leading to liftoff remains on schedule to begin at 11 p.m. EST Monday.

Beginning with this update, keep an eye on this page for the very latest news about Endeavour's countdown, launch and mission. This is the first place we will post news, and then follow up with links to stories and other features about the flight.

A three-day countdown to launch of shuttle Endeavour is slated to pick up at 11 p.m. EST tonight in the wake of an engineering analysis that cleared a suspect electronics box in the ships rear engine compartment.

Known as a signal conditioner, the unit - which is part of a system that transmits instrumentation data to the shuttle computers - suffered a momentary glitch during routine pre-launch testing last week.

Engineers, however, determined Monday that the fleeting glitch was triggered by simultaneous repair work that was being done on wiring associated with a helium regulator aboard the ship.

The weather outlook for launch, meanwhile, looks a bit iffy. A front is expected to be hovering off the coast of west Florida around launch time, giving rise to a chance of showers and thunderstorms at Kennedy Space Center.

Meteorologists say there is a 40 percent chance that bad weather might prohibit launch.

A standard three-day countdown has officially begun at the Kennedy Space Center as NASA continues with its plan to launch shuttle Endeavour at 7:41 p.m. EST Thursday.

During the next few days the launch team will activate systems, load software and fill tanks in a ritual that never seems to lose its significance or attention to detail.

The weather outlook for launch, meanwhile, looks a bit iffy. A front is expected to be hovering off the coast of west Florida around launch time, giving rise to a chance of showers and thunderstorms at Kennedy Space Center.

Meteorologists say there is a 40 percent chance that bad weather might prohibit launch.

NASA launch officials report this morning that everything is going well with the countdown and weather appears to be the only concern that Endeavour won't make it off the ground on Thursday.

Forecasts predict a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions during the five-minute launch window on Thursday. There is chance of showers and thunderstorm clouds in the area.

Senior program managers will meet this afternoon in a routine meeting to approve the continuation of the countdown, and the formal pre-launch press conference will follow and be aired on NASA TV.

Looking ahead in case of any delays, officials say they currently can support five launch attempts spread over seven days, with Dec. 6 being the last chance Endeavour could fly in 2001. Range scheduling and technical issues related to the space station's orbit relative to the sun are the reasons.

The earliest attempt in 2002, if needed, would be around Jan. 6 or 7, officials said. All of those dates could change, however, depending on the Eastern Range schedule.

Questions about security measures at the Kennedy Space Center for Thursday's planned shuttle launch dominated this afternoon's formal pre-launch press conference.

Mission officials wouldn't offer specific details but made their message very clear: The U.S government is prepared to use deadly force to protect the shuttle and its launch team, they have expanded the security zone for airplanes and boats and they cautioned pilots and mariners to stay away from the area.

Technically everything remains go for launch and the weather forecast continues to predict a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

The countdown to the planned launch of shuttle Endeavour continued Tuesday night as senior NASA managers cleared up a potential problem with the ship's landing gear wheels.

Small amounts of corrosion were discovered on other shuttle wheels during recent factory inspections. The discovery prompted NASA to send 17 of the 30 wheels in the agency's inventory back to the manufacturer for tests, and corrosion also was found on all of those wheels.

The six wheels on Endeavour, however, could not be inspected while the shuttle is at the launch pad. The reason: Its attached external tank is blocking access to landing gear doors.

Consequently, engineers over the past two weeks conducted an analysis to determine whether small rust pits might pose a safety problem for Endeavour.

The results of the analysis were presented to senior shuttle managers during a meeting here at Kennedy Space Center. They showed that small amounts of rust would not cause the shuttle's wheels to crack or fracture upon landing.

NASA cleared up one other small glitch Tuesday. A small gap was discovered between seals on the shuttle's payload bay doors, but technicians repaired the problem.

Launch remains scheduled for 7:41 p.m. EST Thursday (0041 GMT) Friday.

Shuttle weather officer Ed Priselac this morning offered a more optimistic forecast for Thursday's scheduled launch. There is now a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions for Thursday and a 90 percent chance of good weather for a launch attempt Friday, if it were needed.

An approaching cold front has stalled well north of the Space Coast so things are looking better. Also, Hurricane Olga in the Atlantic Ocean seems to be losing a little strength, making it easier for the shuttle's solid rocket booster recovery to be deployed on time and sit on station waiting for the launch.

Meanwhile at pad 39B, the launch team has closed Endeavour's payload bay doors for flight, they've filled the shuttle's onboard electricity-generating system with its supply of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen and one of the next major milestones is expected tonight -- just before midnight -- when the Rotating Service Structure is moved away from the vehicle.

Stay tuned to this page for the latest countdown updates.

One day before shuttle Endeavour is to blast off with its own load of cargo destined for the International Space Station, an unmanned Progress freighter has docked with the orbiting outpost with more than a ton of food and supplies packed for the new Expedition Four crew.

Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Monday, this sixth Progress freighter to be sent to the space station flew an automatic approach toward the aft end of the Zvezda service module and made contact at 2:43 p.m. EST (1943 GMT) today.

Waiting inside the service module, the Expedition Three crew were ready to take manual control of the docking procedure if required, but that turned out not to be needed this time.

This Progress replaces one that was filled with garbage and jettisoned from the station on Thanksgiving Day, burning up in Earth's atmosphere a few hours later. Progress freighters are launched to the station every few months atop Soyuz rockets, continuing a logistics supply operation in use by the Russians for years.

In the meantime, launch preparations continue at shuttle pad 39B and Endeavour is on schedule to launch at 7:41 p.m. EST Thursday. There are no technical problems of consequence and the weather forecast remains 70 percent go.

A Progress freighter that docked with the International Space Station earlier today may not be securely latched to the outpost, NASA and Russian space officials reported tonight.

Officials must solve the problem or be convinced the unmanned cargo ship is firmly attached to the aft port of the Zvezda service module before shuttle Endeavour will be allowed to lift off. Managers are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. EST Thursday to decide whether the countdown can continue.

In the meantime, Kennedy Space Center workers are pressing ahead to support a blast off at 7:41 p.m. EST Thursday. There is a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather and there are no technical problems reported with the vehicle.

This sixth Progress supply mission to space station Alpha automatically docked with the orbiting laboratory at 2:43 p.m. EST and all was reported to be A-OK. But Russian ground controllers soon discovered that hooks and latches that were to close may not have. Troubleshooting continues.

We will update this page in the morning as soon as we learn more.

NASA has called off today's launch attempt in the wake of ongoing problems with a Progress freighter that apparently did not completely dock with the International Space Station on Wednesday.

Officials say the Progress is soft docked to the station but apparently there is some debris at the interface between the Progress and the aft port of the Zvezda service module that is preventing the two craft from fulling locking together.

Officials say they need more time to solve the situation and as a result have delayed the launch 24 hours.

We will have more on this later this morning.

Endeavour will remain at its launch pad for at least one more day because of concerns in space with a Progress freighter that is not fully latched in place at the International Space Station. Read the complete story here.

In the meantime, the Air Force has sent out reminders that security zones for area air and boat traffic remain in effect and caution pilots and mariners to stay alert and be aware of where they are at all times.

Aviation restrictions that cover a circle with a 40-mile radius from pad 39B will continue until at least 8:30 p.m. EST Friday, and the marine restrictions will be in effect again from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. EST Friday. Check official FAA and Coast Guard NOTAMS for more information.

In the meantime, the Kennedy Space Center launch team have put preparations on hold until they are given a "go" to begin filling Endeavour's external tank with its half-million gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant. That procedure now is scheduled to begin about 10 a.m. EST Friday.

Stay tuned to this page for countdown updates.

The Kennedy Space Center launch team is being told that Endeavour will not fly until Saturday at the earliest, sources are telling SPACE.com.

However, KSC spokesman George Diller said late Thursday that while it is increasingly likely that a Friday launch attempt will not be made, no official decision has been made yet and won't be until managers meet Friday morning around 10 a.m. EST.

Stay tuned to this page for countdown updates.

Sources tell SPACE.com this morning that it is unlikely Endeavour will fly today, tomorrow or Sunday, and that a launch on Monday or Tuesday seems to be where NASA is leaning right now, with Tuesday the more likely of those two dates.

Launch time on Tuesday would be around 5:40 p.m. EST.

It seems that NASA managers want to wait until the Progress freighter is securely docked to the space station before allowing Endeavour to fly.

To get there, a spacewalk is apparently planned for Monday in which two cosmonauts will step outside to remove the debris that is believed to be preventing the Progress from fully latching to the outpost.

A briefing to news media is scheduled within the next hour and we will post an update as soon as we can following that conference.

NASA managers have officially delayed launch of Endeavour until next Tuesday. The new launch time is 5:45 p.m. EST.

A three-hour spacewalk is scheduled for Monday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m. EST in which two cosmonauts will venture outside to attempt to fix the problem that is preventing the Progress 6 freighter from fully docking with the International Space Station.

Launch on Dec. 4 would lead to a landing on Dec. 15 early in the afternoon.

NASA managers will brief the news media on these latest developments at 11 a.m. EST and we will post a new story following that conference.

Stay tuned to this page for the latest updates.

Although not quite a ghost town, the buzz of activity at the Kennedy Space Center is significantly quieter than it was this morning and yesterday when everyone was gathered for a possible launch of shuttle Endeavour.

With this mission to the International Space Station now delayed to at least Tuesday, little work is scheduled out at launch pad 39B and most of the shuttle team -- including Endeavour's seven crewmembers -- will essentially have the weekend off.

As reported in Todd Halvorson's latest story, what happens next week and when will depend on the results of a planned three-hour spacewalk at the station Monday by Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin.

Until that extravehicular activity begins at 8:30 a.m. EST and we post updates on that event here, we will pause our journal coverage of the STS-108 countdown and wish everyone a pleasant weekend.