Launch Tower Rolls Away From Endeavour

NASA's countdown to the planned launch Friday of shuttle Endeavour on its 25th and finaly flight is proceeding on schedule early today despite a five-hour delay in the unveiling of the orbiter at launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

The 18-story shuttle and six astronauts remain scheduled to blast off at 3:47 p.m. today -- the middle of a 15-minute window to put the spaceship and its crew on course for a rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.

Stormy weather stalled the retraction of the Rotating Service Structure at the launch pad -- a 10-story gantry that provides weather protection and worker access to the vehicle. Preliminary data showed there was no significant damage to the shuttle or its electrical systems. The service structure move, which typically takes about 45 minutes to an hour - started at 11:58 p.m. Wednesday.

External tank propellant-loading operations are scheduled to begin at 6:22 a.m. We'll launch our Cover-It-Live interactive blog at 6:15 a.m.

Hope to see you there.