Final Shuttle Flight Set For July 8 Launch

NASA officials today set July 8 as the firm launch date for the nation's 135th and final shuttle flight, and the four astronauts destined to fly the grand finale will arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Independence Day.

Liftoff from launch pad 39A is slated for 11:26 a.m. July 8, the middle of a 10-minute opportunity to put Atlantis and its astronauts on course for a rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. The astronauts aim to make one final shuttle supply run to the complex prior to shuttle fleet retirement.

Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and two mission specialists -- Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim -- will depart Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center at noon Monday and arrive at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at 2:45 p.m.

The final countdown for NASA's 30-year-old space shuttle program will begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

If all goes well, engineers will begin loading a half-million gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's external tank at 2:01 a.m. Friday, and the astronauts will depart crew quarters and head for the launch pad at 7:36 a.m.

Wounded Giffords Makes First Public Appearance

The critically wounded wife of NASA astronaut Mark Kelly made her first public appearance Monday since the Jan. 8 shooting spree that left six dead and more than a dozen injured outside a Tucson grocery store.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., made the surprise appearance at a ceremony during which her husband was awarded a medal for commanding the final flight of shuttle Endeavour in May. The ceremony was held at Space Center Houston, a visitor complex near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Read the ABC News story filed by our good friend Gina Sunseri.

Space Debris Prompts Precautions At Station

The six crew members aboard the International Space Station are working inside the outpost again after the close approach of space debris prompted the astronauts and cosmonauts to shelter in Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the complex.

The piece of debris passed without incident after radar tracking showed it could come within 820 feet of the outpost. NASA and its station partners invoke safety precautions whenever micrometeorites or orbital debris are projected to sweep within close proximity of the outpost.

A piece of debris as small as a dime could puncture the hull of the station, potentially prompting an emergency evacuation. Two three-seat Russian Soyuz spacecraft always are parked at the outpost to serve as lifeboats in the event of an emergency.

Station commander Andrey Borisenko and two flight engineers -- Alexander Samokutyaev and Ron Garan -- took shelter in one of the Soyuz. Sergei Volkov, Michael Fossum and Satoshi Furukawa strapped into the other spacecraft until an all clear was given.

NASA To Firm Up Date For Last Shuttle Launch

The July 8 target launch date for the nation’s final space shuttle mission likely will be firmed up today after a formal readiness review at Kennedy Space Center.

Four astronauts are tentatively scheduled to blast off at 11:26 a.m. July 8 on a final shuttle supply run to the International Space Station.

Weekend engine tests and a review of data from x-ray inspections of the shuttle’s external tank put NASA back on course for launch a week from this coming Friday.

Senior NASA executives and managers are expected to confirm the launch date and time at the conclusion of today’s agency-level flight readiness review.

“We’re still looking good for the July 8 target date,” KSC spokesman Allard Beutel said Monday. “We still have several days of cushion in the schedule.”

NASA will hold a news conference after the review, and you can watch live here in The Flame Trench. The time is still TBD. Click the NASA TV box on the right to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage.

Taking part in the briefing: William Gerstenmaier, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Operations; Mike Moses, NASA's Shuttle Launch Integration Manager; and NASA Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach.

As it stands, the Atlantis crew is scheduled to arrive at NASA’s shuttle homeport next Monday – the federal July 4 holiday. The crew includes commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.

NASA’s final shuttle launch countdown is slated to pick up at 1 p.m. next Tuesday.

Atlantis is scheduled to touch down on KSC’s shuttle runway at 7:06 a.m. on July 20 – the 42nd anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.