Giffords arrives for 2d try at launch

May 16, 2011|Associated Press

NASA readied the space shuttle Endeavour for its final mission, with liftoff… (BRUCE WEAVER/AFP/Getty…)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Representative Gabrielle Giffords arrived in Florida for the this morning’s planned launch of the space shuttle Endeavour that will be commanded by her husband, Mark Kelly.

A posting on the congresswoman’s Facebook page said she flew in on a NASA jet yesterday afternoon and got a quick fly-by of Endeavour at the pad. The Democrat from Arizona arrived with the family of Endeavour pilot Gregory Johnson.

The shuttle was being fueled last night, and the weather looks good for Endeavour’s 8:56 a.m. launch. An April launch try was delayed because of electrical problems.

Giffords suffered a head wound in a mass shooting in January but is making a remarkable recovery. Doctors have cleared her to travel to see the launch.

NASA was so ready to get the flight off the ground that it moved the protective scaffolding around the shuttle 15 minutes earlier than planned.

There was only a 30 percent chance of a weather delay, mostly because of crosswinds.

The conditions were far different from last month’s futile launch attempt. The protective cover wasn’t removed for five hours because of storms, and the launch was scrubbed because of an electrical problem.

NASA is expecting slightly smaller crowds — 400,000 people instead of 750,000 people — for the second attempt. The media horde is also slightly thinned but includes television anchors such as Katie Couric of CBS, said NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs.