Endeavour Return Now Targeted For Tuesday

The orbiter Endeavour won't be back to Kennedy Space Center until at least Tuesday as a result of problems encountered preparing the spaceship for a cross-country trip from Edwards Air Force Base.

Preparations had been running ahead of schedule, and NASA aimed to move up the return by a day. But technicians ran in to trouble with fasteners and other hardware used to mount a tailcone around the orbiter's three main engines.

Said KSC spokesman George Diller: "The bottom line is we're back to Plan A."

The plan is for Endeavour to be mounted atop a modified 747 carrier aircraft for a sunrise departure from Edwards Air Force Base on Monday. The 747 and Endeavour would make an overnight stop before heading toward an arrival at KSC late Tuesday morning.

Diller said engineers have resolved the problems with the attach hardware, and the tailcone is scheduled to be mounted around the aft end of Endeavour later today. The tailcone reduces aerodynamic drag during the ferry flight back to KSC.

The orbiter is slated to be mounted atop a modified 747 carrier aircraft Sunday.

A ferry flight readiness review now is scheduled to take place around 2 p.m. EST Sunday.

Check out this cool interactive graphic that shows how the 747 and Endeavour will make the trip: Shuttle Piggyback. Credit Florida Today Graphic Artist Dennis Lowe.

Endeavour and seven astronauts landed at Edwards Nov. 30 after stiff crosswinds and approaching thunderstorms prompted NASA officials to forego two landing opportunities at KSC.

The landing capped a mission to outfit the International Space Station for crews of six.

ABOUT THE IMAGES: Click to enlarge and save the images of ferry flight preparations at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert north of Los Angeles, Calif. The first shows Endeavour within the Mate-Demate Device. The second shows United Space Alliance employees Mark Burton and Russell Wazniak installing a forward mount fixture that will be used to attach the orbiter to its 747 carrier aircraft.