CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA (voa) – The U.S. Space Shuttle Endeavour is finally on its way for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.
Endeavour blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 22 hours 19 minutes universal time Wednesday. The launch was delayed for nearly a week because of bad weather and a space station docking mechanism problem that prevented a Russian supply ship from forming an airtight seal with the orbiting laboratory.
A pair of spacewalking cosmonauts at the space station fixed the problem by removing some space debris from the docking mechanism.
Endeavour and its four-astronaut crew is set to dock with the space station on Friday. Endeavour will drop off a Russian cosmonaut and two U.S. astronauts for a four-month stay on the station and bring the current crew back to Earth.
The Endeavour crew will also install a protective blanket on the mechanism that turns the space station’s massive solar panels that generate electricity from sunlight.
This is the first manned spaceflight since the September 11th terrorist attacks, and unprecedented security surrounded the Kennedy Space Center for the Endeavour launch.
The U.S. Air Force had established a no-fly zone around the area. Fighter jets, helicopters and extra military guards were also protecting the launch site.
Meanwhile, partners in the International Space Station hold talks Thursday in Washington about proposed spending cuts by the U.S. space agency for the project.
Representatives of the European Space Agency, Canada, Japan and Russia are reportedly worried that the proposed cuts could hurt the space station project.
Some information for this report provided by NASA.
