Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:17:14 PM GMT+0530
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, prelaunch activities are in full swing this week with the official launch countdown to space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission set to begin at 2 a.m. EST Feb. 4.
Teams at Launch Pad 39A will be packing the astronauts' spacesuits into Endeavour today.
Meanwhile, the six STS-130 crew members who will fly to the International Space Station entered quarantine yesterday and now are on a sleep schedule to match their evening and overnight work hours during the mission. They will conduct final integrated ascent training in the motion base simulator today at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and will be flying to Kennedy tomorrow night.
Last week, a water suppression system pipe leaked at Kennedy's Launch Control Center and workers have made progress during the weekend drying walls and carpets. This leak is not expected to hamper the liftoff of Endeavour at 4:39 a.m. EST Feb. 7.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Chief Financial Officer Beth Robinson will brief reporters about the agency's fiscal year 2011 budget during a teleconference at 12:30 p.m. EST today that can be heard on the Web
