Squalls approaching Central Florida today are expected to prevent the orbiter Endeavour from making it home to Kennedy Space Center on the back of a modified 747 carrier aircraft. NASA will hold a weather briefing at 10 a.m. EST today to help chart the next legs of the cross-country ferry flight, which began Wednesday in California.
The piggybacked vehicles hope to leave Texas by noon and press east for one more refueling stop before determining if the trip can continue to Florida.
The National Weather Service has issued tornado watches across much of Central Florida this morning as an organized squall line comes on shore from the Gulf of Mexico.
The storms - potentially packing heavy rains and gusty winds - are expected to move offshore by mid- to late-afternoon.
The orbiter on Wednesday was ferried from Edwards Air Force Base in California to the Fort Worth Naval Air Station, with a stop in between at Fort Bliss near El Paso.
You can track Endeavour's progress today in real time by clicking here: Track Endeavour.
Endeavour is making its way home to KSC after ending a 16-day mission in California on Nov. 30. Bad weather at KSC then led NASA to bring the spaceship down at its secondary landing site for the 52nd time.
IMAGE NOTE: Click the image above to enlarge it. In Fort Worth, Texas, shuttle Endeavour on Wednesday landed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth atop a specially fitted Boeing 747 for an overnight stay en route to Florida. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Rodger Mallison)
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