Endeavour Stays Warm in Chilly Florida

On Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour is being protected from unusually cold weather with heaters and warm air purges. This process will keep the spacecraft’s systems at an appropriate temperature.

Overnight, technicians installed the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, on the shuttle’s external fuel tank and testing on the connections will be performed today. The GUCP is the vent to the pad and the flame stack where vented hydrogen is burned off.

Meanwhile at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Endeavour’s six astronauts will be practicing an integrated re-entry simulation.

On Jan. 19-21, the STS-130 crew will be at Kennedy to participate in the prelaunch dress rehearsal known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT. Endeavour’s crew members will have an opportunity to participate in simulated countdown activities, equipment familiarization and emergency training procedures.