NASA confirms launch time for STS 127

NASA confirmed the official launch time for Space Shuttle Endeavour's lift-off on Saturday, 11 July 2009 for 19:39 EST. The mission designation is STS 127 and will be Endeavour's 23rd flight. All systems are clear for tomorrow's launch, however, weather forecasts call for thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico and heavy wind and rain may delay the launch.

Shuttle Endeavour first flew STS-49, May 1992, following a NASA-sponsored, nation-wide contest to name the shuttle commissioned to replace Challenger. STS-127 will be Endeavour's final mission, as the American space shuttle program is due to be decommissioned in 2010. Upon its return to Earth, Endeavour will be sent to March Field Air Museum in Riverside, CA in honor of astronaut and Riverside resident, Tracy Caldwell.

The Orion spacecraft, powered by the new Ares-class rocket, is due to replace the aging shuttle fleet as the United States' primary space vehicle in 2014. Due to the unavoidable time gap between NASA moth-balling the shuttle fleet and launching the Orion craft, the Russian Federal Space Agency (RSA) will take the lead on most missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

Commander Mark Polansky and the crew of Endeavour are delivering the final components of Japan's Kibo module to the ISS. Upon completion, the Kibo module will be the largest part of the ISS and will be used to conduct science experiments in the vacuum of space.

So tomorrow at 7:40pm, if you stand outside and you live on the East Coast, you will probably be able to hear the launch. - Jack