Article Posted on : - Jun 04, 2009

NASA space shuttle Endeavour. A file photo

CAPE CANAVERAL (BNS): Shuttle Endeavour will blast off on its next mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 13, US space agency NASA said.

The shuttle will be launched from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 1647 hrs IST, NASA said in a statement Wednesday.

NASA will have a three-day window to launch until June 15, as another launch of a moon probe has been scheduled to take place on June 17 at the nearby military base. If Endeavour's June launch has to be postponed then the next available date will be from July 12.

The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

Endeavour will also take US astronaut Tim Kopra to the ISS to replace Japan's Koichi Wakata who will return to Earth on board the shuttle.