US Shuttle Endeavour Blasts off with New Crew to Space Station

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, November 24, 2002

US Shuttle Endeavour Blasts off with New Crew to Space Station

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Running almost 13 days late dueto technical problems and bad weather, US space shuttle Endeavour finally roared away Saturday evening on a mission to deliver a fresh crew and a new segment to the International Space Station.

Endeavour's launch at 7:50 p.m. EST (0050 GMT Sunday) from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, marks the beginning of the 16th shuttle visit to the orbiting outpost.

The shuttle had initially been ready to blast off on Nov. 11, but the countdown was called off with just three hours remaining due to an oxygen leak found in a system that provides oxygen to the crew cabin and astronaut space suits.

To repair the oxygen leak, technicians had to open the shuttle's payload bay and remove the faulty flex hose. During the process,a mobile platform holding the repair technicians collided with the shuttle's robot arm, resulting in a "bruise" in its carbon composite structure, which forced US space agency NASA to further postpone the lift off.

A launching attempt on Friday was also scrubbed minutes before takeoff due to poor weather at two transatlantic emergency landingsites in Spain.

During their 11-day flight, astronauts aboard Endeavour will perform three spacewalks to activate and outfit a 390-million-dollar segment after it is attached to the station and will transfer cargo between the two spacecrafts.

Known as P1 Truss, the 14-ton girder is the third of 11 outside structures that will ultimately expand the space station to the length of a football field.

Among Endeavour's seven-member crews are two Americans and one Russian, who under the name of Expedition Six, will replace the three current astronauts living on the space station.

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