Hundredsof thousands of spectators were expected along the central Florida coast towatch the launch at the Kennedy Space Center, including the first family andArizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, whose husband Mark Kelly is theEndeavor commander. It would have been Giffords’ first appearance in publicsince she was shot in the head in January.
The Endeavor will be delivering a 7-ton Alpha Magnetic Spectrometerto the International Space Station that will help search deep space forantimatter and cosmic rays.
Endeavor’s mission is the penultimate for NASA’s shuttle fleet, which will beretired this year after 135 trips into space.
