Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate Realigned, Seals Reinstalled

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida , crews continue work to repair a plate that attaches a gaseous hydrogen vent line to space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank. Hydrogen leaks in the area of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, postponed Endeavour's launch attempts June 13 and 17, delaying its 16-day flight to the International Space Station. The carrier plate has been realigned and seals have been installed.

On Wednesday, July 1, starting at 7 a.m. EDT , a tanking test will be conducted to ensure repairs were successful. Endeavour's external tank will be filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, just as it is before launch. NASA managers will hold a news conference following the test to discuss the results at approximately 1 p.m. The test and news conference will be shown live on NASA television.

Endeavour's next launch attempt is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-127 mission astronauts will resume training Monday, June 29.

STS-127 Mission Overview

The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.


The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.