spacetoday.net: Endeavour lifts off

Posted: Wed, Jun 5, 2002, 6:33 PM ET (2233 GMT)
STS-111 launch (NASA/KSC)

The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off Wednesday afternoon on a mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle started mission STS-111 with a liftoff at 5:22:49 pm EDT (2142:49 GMT) Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There were no technical problems reported during the countdown and weather conditions, which had postponed launch attempts last week, cooperated for the late afternoon launch. Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station Friday at 12:18 pm EDT (1618 GMT). On board Endeavour is the three-person Expedition Five crew for the station; they will relieve the three-man Expedition Four crew currently on the station, who will return home on Endeavour. Shuttle astronauts will perform three EVAs to install a mobile base station on the "railcar" on the station's new truss segment, and replace a faulty wrist joint on the station’s Candarm2 robotic arm. The 12-day mission will end with a landing at KSC on the morning on June 17.