spacetoday.net: Endeavour rolled out to pad for its final launch

Posted: Fri, Mar 11, 2011, 6:37 AM ET (1137 GMT)
STS-134: rollout (NASA/KSC)

The space shuttle Endeavour rolled out to the launch pad Thursday night in preparation for its final mission, scheduled for launch next month. Endeavour, attached to its external tank and two solid rocket boosters, left the Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:56 pm EST Thursday (0056 GMT Friday) and arrived at the Pad 39A about eight hours later. Endeavour is scheduled to launch on mission STS-134 on April 19. The launch, the last scheduled mission for Endeavour, will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument to the ISS. Separately, sources said Thursday that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, wife of mission commander Mark Kelly, plans to attend the launch. Giffords was shot and critically wounded in Tucson two months ago, and is currently undergoing rehabilitation at a Houston hospital.