NASA schedules June 13 Endeavour launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 3 (UPI) -- U.S. space agency managers have selected June 13 as the launch date for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Commander Mark Polansky and his six crewmates are to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launch date followed completion of a Flight Readiness Review that assessed the risks associated with the mission. Officials determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight.

"The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory." NASA said in a statement. "Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space."

The STS-127 crew members are Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and astronauts Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.

NASA said Polansky, who has a Twitter account, can be followed online at http://www.twitter.com/Astro_127.