LAUNCH DATE SET FOR SHUTTLE RADAR MAPPING MISSION

NASA managers today announced that Space Shuttle Endeavour will launch no earlier that Jan. 31, on mission STS-99, pending resolution of an ongoing orbiter tile evaluation and completion of other planned open work.

Endeavour will spend 11 days in orbit making elevation measurements of the Earth's surface. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) will use a measurement technique called interferometry to gather images of a large majority of the Earth's surface; military planners, aircraft designers, firefighters, weather forecasters and others will then have use of this information.

In order to gather these images, two antenna will be extended: one in the orbiter's payload bay and the other from the end of a mast extended 60 meters (197 feet) out from the Shuttle. This 60-meter mast will be the largest fixed structure ever flown in space. The resulting three-dimensional images will generate the most complete topographic map of the Earth's land surface ever produced.

"We are excited to undertake this first mission of 2000 and to utilize the SRTM aboard the Shuttle," said Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore. "The team has done a thorough job preparing Endeavour for flight, and we're ready to start this new year as successfully as we ended the last year."

Endeavour's Jan. 31 launch window opens at 12:47 p.m. EST and extends for 2 hours, 2 minutes. Landing is set to occur at Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 11 at about 4:55 p.m.

Endeavour's crew consists of Commander Kevin Kregel; Pilot Dom Gorie; and Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi, Janice Voss, Mamoru Mohri of the Japanese space agency (NASDA) and Gerhard Thiele of the European Space Agency.

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