The six astronauts for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission to the International Space Station now are at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for their prelaunch preparations. The crew arrived at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) in T-38 jets at 12:52 p.m. EDT.
Commander Mark Kelly made a brief statement and introduced his crew to media who were gathered at the SLF for the arrival.
"We’re really happy to be here today," said Kelly. "We got a chance to take look at the orbiter as we first flew over the field and then the over pad. It’s great to see Endeavour all ready to go again."
Kelly introduced his crew, talked about how excited they were to fly this mission and deliver the special payloads to the station, and how happy he is that his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, will be able to travel to Kennedy arriving in time for the launch on Friday.
Kelly and his crew then departed the shuttle runway. Later today, Kelly and Pilot Greg H. Johnson will practice landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA), which are Gulfstream II jets modified to handle like a space shuttle.
Tomorrow’s prelaunch news conference is scheduled to be aired at 11 a.m. on NASA TV (www.nasa.gov/ntv).