Cape Carnival, Mar 12 : After safely reaching its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 11, space shuttle Endeavour now awaits the next major milestone for its upcoming flight to the International Space Station.

Reporters are invited to cover a launch dress rehearsal, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), scheduled at Kennedy from Mar 29 to Apr 1.

Six astronauts are set to begin the STS-134 mission on Apr 19 for Endeavour's final scheduled flight before it is retired.

Endeavour arrived at the pad on top of a giant crawler-transporter after leaving Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:56 p.m. EST Thursday. It travelled less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey and was secured on the launch pad at 3:49 a.m. Friday.

TCDT will provide Endeavour's astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training.

The 14-day mission will be the 36th flight to the space station and the 25th flight for Endeavour. The STS-134 mission will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics detector designed to search for various types of unusual matter by measuring cosmic rays. The STS-134 crew also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, a platform that carries spare parts to sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired later this year. (IBNS)

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