The Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) crossfeed valve procedure worked to alleviate the right OMS pressure issue. Both left and right tanks are balanced and are below pressure limits and there are no technical concerns for today’s launch.
Space shuttle Endeavour’s external tank is fully loaded with more than 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in preparation for today’s 3:47 p.m. EDT launch. Tanking operations began at 6:22 a.m. and concluded at 9:24 a.m. The countdown has entered a planned 2.5-hour hold at T-3 hours, during which the tank will remain in “stable replenish” mode, the Close Out Crew will prepare the White Room for astronaut arrival, and the Final Inspection Team will conduct its inspections.
At 10 a.m. NASA Television (www.nasa.gov/ntv) will provide coverage of 42 Progress docking to the International Space Station. STS-134 launch commentary will start on NASA TV at 10:30 a.m.
A storm cell is rapidly moving through the Kennedy Space Center. Once it passes, forecasters continue to predict a 70 percent chance of favorable weather for today’s launch. The only concerns are low cloud ceilings and high crosswinds at the Shuttle Landing Facility.
Follow along with Endeavour’s countdown milestones on NASA’s Launch Blog at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch_blog.html.