NASA set for third shuttle launch try Saturday

15:02, 9 July 2009

CAPE CANAVERAL. July 9. KAZINFORM. Countdown clocks resumed ticking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday in preparation for NASA's third attempt to launch space shuttle Endeavour on a construction mission to the International Space Station; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

Liftoff is scheduled for 7:39 pm EDT on Saturday. Two previous launch attempts in June were canceled due to potentially dangerous hydrogen fuel leaks.

Technicians fixed the leak and last week filled the fuel tank with 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to test if the repair was successful. The leak did not reappear, prompting managers to clear Endeavour for launch on a 16-day mission to deliver the final piece of Japan's Kibo complex to the space station.

The Endeavour crew plans to conduct five spacewalks during their stay at the station to install a porch onto Kibo for science experiments, as well as to replace batteries in a solar panel wing and perform other maintenance tasks; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.

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