Endeavour's crew, seated left to right, Mark Kelly, Mike Fincke, Gregory H. Johnson, Roberto Vittori, Greg Chamitoff and Drew Feustel
The launching of shuttle Endeavour’s 14-day mission to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station will slip from April 19 to April 29 to accommodate the April 27 launching of the Russian 42 Progress supply capsule, NASA announced Monday.
Previously, NASA’s shuttle program had proposed launch attempts for Endeavour between April 19th and 22nd before suspending efforts to dispatch Endeavour on her final mission to make way for the Progress launching.
Under NASA mission rules, the shuttle cannot be docked with the orbiting science laboratory during Progress or Soyuz operations.
Progress will dock with the space station on April 29 under the change.
Endeavour’s six astronauts would lift off on April 29 at 3:47 p.m., EDT.
The flight will be the 25th for Endeavour, which is the youngest member of NASA’s orbiter fleet. Endeavour was constructed to replace shuttle Challenger, which was lost along with a crew of seven astronauts in 1986.
Endeavour’s first mission unfolded in 1992.
The $2 billion AMS, a particle detector, was developed by 16 nations through the efforts of more than 600 scientists and engineers. The 15,000 pound detector will be fastened to the right side of the station’s long solar power system truss by the Endeavour crew for at least a decade of observations of cosmic rays.
Scientists hope the observations will lead to a better understanding of dark matter and primordial anti-matter, parts of the cosmic fabric that could help to explain the genesis and the evolution of the universe.
The Endeavour crew will also equip the station with an external platform holding spare parts for the communications, thermal control and power systems.
Endeavour’s crew is led by veteran commander Mark Kelly. His crew includes pilot Greg H. Johnson, Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori of Italy.