NASA managers today begin a two-day flight readiness review to discuss engineering obstacles and clear Endeavour for launch on March 11. A persistent problem with signals from low-fuel sensors was repaired before the last launch, so Endeavour faces few apparent engineering problems.
"There are no hardware issues we're dealing with of any significance," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.
A decision will be made public Friday at a press briefing no earlier than 2 p.m. EST, which will be covered in The Flame Trench.
Today, only essential workers remain at launch pad 39A, while toxic propellants are loaded into tanks that feed the shuttle's 44 steering jets, the twin Orbital Maneuvering System engines and the Auxiliary Power Units.
That dangerous work should be complete by 4 p.m. Friday.
On a mission with five spacewalks, Endeavour's crew of seven is scheduled to launch at 2:28 a.m. EST March 11. They will deliver a Japanese module and a Canadian robot to the International Space Station.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
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