NASA Managers Meet to Discuss Endeavour's Launch

NASA managers have retargeted space shuttle Endeavour's launch to no earlier than Monday, May 16. After a meeting on Friday, they also extended the length of Endeavour's STS-134 mission to the International Space Station from 14 to 16 days. If Endeavour launches on May 16, liftoff would be at 8:56 a.m. EDT.

At 3 p.m. today, NASA Space Shuttle Program Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach will hold a news conference at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to discuss the progress of repairs since Endeavour's launch postponement on April 29. The news conference will air live on NASA Television and online at www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Over the weekend, Kennedy technicians installed and checked out new wiring that bypasses the suspect electrical wiring connecting the switchbox to the heaters. They also ran the heaters for up to 30 minutes to verify they are working properly and complete retesting of the other systems powered by the switchbox. Teams will begin closing out Endeavour's aft compartment and will begin launch countdown preps today.