Just after space shuttle Endeavour made its way back to its Orbiter Processing Facility hangar, crews prepared to roll shuttle Discovery from the facility to the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building. The move, set for 10 a.m. EST this morning, paves the way for Discovery’s roll to the launch pad on Mar. 2.
Discovery’s astronauts are set to arrive at Kennedy this morning to inspect equipment they will use during their STS-131 mission.
Following last night’s landing, Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses said that space shuttle Endeavour’s landing capped off a flawless mission. “The crew did an outstanding job,” Moses said, referring to the complex task of installing Tranquility and its seven-windowed cupola to the International Space Station. “The landing today went as smooth as you can hope for — by the numbers.”
Moses wrapped up his remarks about the STS-130 mission by saying, “It was an outstanding mission — I can’t be happier with the success we had and look forward to repeating that on our next mission.”
Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach was extremely pleased with Endeavour’s condition.”One of the most magical things we get to do here at Kennedy Space Center is walk around the orbiter after a mission from space. She looks really, really good,” Leinbach said. Leinbach also congratulated Norm Knight and his team in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a job well done.