Endeavour is readied for launch pad move

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- NASA technicians worked Monday to ready space shuttle Endeavour for its move to Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The shuttle move, scheduled for Tuesday, is the next major step toward the Aug. 7 launch of STS-118 for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.

The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, will be mounted on a Mobile Launcher Platform and delivered to the pad atop a crawler transporter.

The crawler will travel at less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey that's expected to take approximately six hours, with NASA television providing live coverage beginning at 6 a.m. EDT Tuesday as Endeavour approaches the launch pad.

After the move to the launch pad, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans a "dress rehearsal" of launch procedures July 16-19, including a practice countdown.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.