The seven astronauts set to launch aboard space shuttle Endeavour arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday afternoon, touching down on the Shuttle Landing Facility in a Gulfstream jet.

"I can tell you that this crew and the entire operations team are both eager and ready to get to work," said STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky after the crew stepped onto the runway. "Hopefully the next time we talk to you will be from orbit."

The STS-127 launch countdown will officially begin Wednesday at 10 p.m. when clocks begin ticking backward from T-43 hours. Liftoff is set for July 11 at 7:39 p.m.

STS-127 Mission Overview
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.

The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.

STS-127 Additional Resources
› Mission Press Kit (6.9 Mb PDF)
› Mission Summary (429 Kb PDF)
› Meet the STS-127 Crew