for launch complex 39 at the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida this is shuttle
launch control at t-minus 3 hours and
holding we are now in the final five
hours of the countdown for the launch of
space shuttle Endeavour on a NASA
sponsored microgravity research flight
the countdown is being controlled from
firing room 1 at the launch control
center and we are on schedule for a
liftoff at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time this
morning this is the eleventh flight for
endeavour and the 77th mission of the
space shuttle program since launches
began in April 1981 14 years ago and the
fifty-second since return to flight in
1988 this STS 77 mission has a planned
duration of 10 days zero hours 37
minutes if all goes as planned with the
landing expected to occur at Kennedy
Space Center on the morning of May 29th
at approximately 707 a.m. Eastern Time
assuming an on-time launch today the
five member flight crew of Endeavour are
being awakened at this time at the
astronaut quarters and approximately a
half hour they will be entering the
dining room for breakfast after which
they will have a weather briefing and
receive a status on the countdown
activity will then go to the suit up
room and on their launch and entry suits
and a 3:10 a.m. they will depart the
crew quarters for the 20-minute ride out
to launch pad 39b
at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean
weather wise we continue to have very
favorable conditions for a launch today
just a 10 percent chance of not meeting
our launch weather criteria due
primarily to the slight chance of an
offshore shower out in the
and moving onshore around the Cape
vicinity but with the two and a half our
launch window there's ample time to wait
for a shower two paths
and here are all six of our STS 77 crew
members ready for breakfast and our
traditional cake on the table at the end
mission specialist dan birch our flight
engineer on this mission Curt brown our
pilot on this flight will be busy with
numerous rendezvous activities with our
commander John Casper making his fourth
flight into space today
mission specialist Mario Ronco making
his third trip into space mission
specialist previously in 1991 and 1993
and Andy Thomas from Australia our
payload commander during the flight in
Australia and the Canadian mission
specialist Marc Garneau
this is shuttle launch control at
t-minus three hours and holding we're
we're in the suit-up room now with the
astronauts we just saw Commander John
Casper and here is pilot Kirk Braun
and your as mission specialist Andy
Thomas our commander once again John
Casper and here is Dan birch making his
third flight he flew previously on STS
51 in 1993 and STS 68 in 1994 here is
Canadian mission specialist Marc Garneau
I'll be doing a number of microgravity
research position of experiments
particularly with the aquatic research
facility and here is Mario run co making
his third trip into space he was on STS
44 in 1991 and STS 54 in 1993
again and here are our astronauts now
just leaving a suit-up room headed for
the elevator third floor of the
operations and check-out building
located in the KSC industrial area
and director of flight crew operations
Dave leasman is with him
Bob Cabana will be flying the weather
reconnaissance this morning
and here the cop
this is shuttle launch control at
t-minus two hours 41 minutes 52 seconds
and counting
where we've just seen the STS 77
astronauts come off the elevator on the
fixed service structure and they will be
walking across the orbiter access arm to
board endeavour
vision specialist and Canadian astronaut
Marc Garneau in the picture now making
his third or second trip into space
here in the firing room we're getting
ready now for the final pre-flight
alignment of the inertial measurement
units on board endeavour
PD ROTC standby to perform final
air-to-ground boys
definitely NFP is looking no issue here
cleared to launch confidence and
endeavor loose you and your band have a
great mission and we'll see you back
here in nine days - Emily thank you for
all the great work you folks have done
and we're ready to go fly an entity
you're clear to launch
and we're now activating the firing
chain on the solid rocket booster an
external tank rain safety system
firing chain is armed
sound suppression water system is
activated rain safety command systems
are armed
t-minus 10 9 8 7 ignition sequence start
five four three two one zero and liftoff
of the space shuttle Endeavour to
develop the practical and the beneficial
aspects of space
Roger roll endeavour Houston now
controlling endeavours underway on an
11th trip to space currently rolling on
course when eath east-northeast
trajectory away from the Kennedy Space
Center toward a 39 degree inclination
153 nautical mile altitude to orbit
endeavour already traveling 430 miles
per hour
altitude 2 miles 3 engines on board
endeavor have now followed back to
two-thirds throttle to prepare the
spacecraft to pass through the area of
maximum air pressure and go supersonic
endeavour speed now 700 miles per hour
altitude four and a half miles two and a
half miles east-northeast to the Kennedy
Space Center
endeavour go at throttle up three
engines on endeavour now back at full
throttle now it's 210 miles never
traveling 1,400 miles per hour eight
miles east-northeast of the Canady Space
Center one and a half minutes since
launch endeavours already used more than
two to quarter million pounds of
propellant the spacecraft weighs less
than half of what it did it liftoff
one minute 50 seconds since liftoff
endeavour now traveling 2,700 miles per
hour
altitude 24 miles 24 miles downrange
from the Kennedy Space Center flak on
floor standing by for burnout and
jettison of the twin solid rockets
Chris said it never has you loud and
clear what a right boy oh it's great and
we're going to work now
sounds good endeavour in we're right
there with you
are you getting our downlink yes we have
a good TV on the midday okay
and I'm gonna hold the needle up to you
and as I was pushing it in I felt a
little resistance I thought it was
deceptive that I was going through but
it you can see what happened I don't
know if I'm too close right now and he
told me to back up or not
in view in this view the Kennedy Space
Center is the Shuttle Landing Facility
runway visible as the long mark there on
Cape Canaveral endeavour currently at an
altitude of 176 statute miles