Endeavour moves to launchpad

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour arrived at its launchpad Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in advance of its scheduled March 11 launch.

The rollout of the shuttle began at 11:24 p.m. Sunday, approximately seven hours earlier than scheduled. The shuttle and its STS-123 crew will conduct a 16-day mission to the International Space Station.

The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters were mounted on a mobile launcher platform and delivered to the pad on top of a crawler transporter. It was secured at 6:22 a.m. Monday.

In addition, as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's 50th anniversary, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were to fly over Endeavour at the launch pad during a midmorning ceremony.

The STS-123 mission will deliver the first section of the Japan space agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Five spacewalks are scheduled to be performed during the flight.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.