Payload Installation Set to Wrap Up Saturday Morning

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:55:34 -0500

Launch Pad 39A crews at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida briefly delayed installing space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 payload into its cargo bay today to evaluate the alignment of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer's remotely operated electrical umbilical, which provides heating and avionics power to the experiment. Installation now is expected to be completed Saturday morning.

During the 14-day mission to the International Space Station, Endeavour's six astronauts will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2, a particle physics detector designed to search for various types of unusual matter by measuring cosmic rays and the Express Logistics Carrier-3, a platform that carries spare parts that will sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired later this year.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center, STS-134 Mission Specialists Michael Fincke and Greg Chamitoff are rehearsing techniques for the mission's fourth and final spacewalk today in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.

Launch of Endeavour on the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for 7:48 p.m. EDT April 19.