KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Space shuttle Endeavour finally began the cross-country trip from California to Kennedy Space Center after a three-day delay due to bad weather and diffiulties encountered while mating the orbiter to its modified 747 carrier aircraft. Endeavour is expected to arrive in Florida Thursday or Friday afternoon, depending on the weather conditions.
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR TAKES OFF FROM EDWARDS AFB WEDNESDAY VIDEO: THE 747 AND ENDEAVOUR FLY OVER JOHNSON SPACE CENTER THUSDAY Since Endeavour landed three weeks ago, technicians have labored to prepare the vehicle for the 2,225 mile ferry flight from Edwards Afir Force Base. The shuttle was forced to land there at the conclusion of STS-126 because of stormy weather over the primary landing site at Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour's landing was the 52nd west coast landing in the 124 flight history of the shuttle program. NASA had hoped to begin the risky journey back to FLorida on Sunday, but those plans were scrapped when technicians ran into problems attaching the aerodynamic tailcone on the orbiter's aft end. The passage of a cold front over the southwestern United States forced NASA to keep Endeavour on the ground Monday and Tuesday until the system passed and the 747, with Endeavour on its back, was allowed to takeoff. The airplane, officially known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, took off at 10 a.m. EST en route to a refueling stop at Biggs Army Air Fiel in El Paso, Texas. The aircraft and shuttle were again airborne at 2:30 p.m. and flew to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, formerly Carswell AFB, in Ft. Worth, Texas for an overnight stop. Endeavour will resume its trip Thursday morning and may arrive at Kennedy Space Center sometime in the afternoon. However, the weather system that delayed Endeavour's California departure is now moving through the southeastern U.S. and may prevent the shuttle from returning tomorrow. More likely, the aircraft/spacecraft duo will make one more overnight stop along the way before making it back to Florida on Friday afternoon. (Space Media Corporation / SpaceflightNews.net)
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