Meteorologists on Friday predicted near-perfect weather in Florida for next week's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour to carry the first part of an elaborate Japanese laboratory to the International Space Station.
NASA hopes to launch its second shuttle flight of the year from the Kennedy Space Center at 2:28 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, less than three weeks after the shuttle Atlantis returned from delivering Europe's first permanent space lab to the growing orbital outpost.
"I have high hopes we'll do this once and get it over with," said Stephen Payne, a NASA manager overseeing the shuttle launch at the Florida spaceport.
The weather was expected to be ideal, with light breezes and clear skies. Meteorologists on Friday predicted a 90 percent chance of an on-time launch.
NASA is a bit squeezed to get Endeavour off the ground next week. An unmanned Delta rocket has reservations for the launch of a Global Positioning System satellite on March 15 from the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which shares safety, tracking and other support services with NASA.
Two days are needed to set up equipment for the different rockets, leaving NASA with just Tuesday and Wednesday for Endeavour's launch attempts before letting the Delta team have a turn.
Endeavour's crew is scheduled to spend 16 days in orbit to install the first part of Japan's Kibo complex and attach a Canadian-built robot to the outside of the station to help with maintenance.
Spacewalking astronauts also plan to test a heat shield repair technique designed after the 2003 Columbia accident.
Debris hit Columbia's wing during launch, causing heat shield damage that led to the ship's breakup as it flew through the atmosphere for landing. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.
Five spacewalks are scheduled during Endeavour's 12-day stay at the station.
French astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who flew to the outpost on Atlantis last month, will be replaced by NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman.
The Endeavour crew is due to arrive in Florida on Friday evening, in advance of a three-day launch countdown set to begin early on Saturday.
