NASA clears shuttle for space station visit

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA managers on Wednesday cleared the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts for launch on Friday on a mission to make the International Space Station a bit more like home.

Endeavour's cargo includes two sleeping chambers, a second toilet and a water purification system that will let NASA double the station crew size to six and allow them to recycle urine and waste water for drinking.

Launch is set for 7:55 p.m. EST (12:55 a.m. GMT on Saturday) from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

"This mission is all about home improvements, both inside and outside of the International Space Station," said Endeavour commander Chris Ferguson. "We've had some large modules delivered in the last year. It's time to fill them up."

Meteorologists were watching an approaching cold front that may trigger rain and thick clouds over central Florida around launch time. Overall, they predicted a 60 percent chance the weather would be suitable for an on-time liftoff.

NASA is eager to get back into orbit after an expectedly long hiatus between its last shuttle mission in May.

The agency had planned to fly a Hubble Space Telescope servicing call in October but delayed the mission until May 2009 to add more repairs after a new problem surfaced with one of the telescope's computers.

"We're looking forward to the launch," said Mike Leinbach, who oversees the shuttle launch team in Florida. "It just feels way too long."