Endeavour crew arrives in Florida for monster mapping mission

NASA spruces up Endeavour before launch

January 27, 2000
Web posted at: 12:40 PM EST (1740 GMT)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- The space shuttle Endeavour crew arrived on Thursday in Florida, from where they will blast off in a few days on an ambitious mission that could produce the most comprehensive and accurate topographical maps ever.

Countdown for the launch begins Friday. During an 11-day mission that begins January 31, the six-member crew will take detailed radar readings of 80 percent of the Earth's surface.

"It really is going to be a science-packed mission. It may not be the most visual...but we're going to get some things that are going to benefit the world," crew commander Kevin Kregel said earlier this month.

The mission will produce a world map with unprecedented clarity, according to astronaut Janice Voss. The flight could produce Earth map images with the highest resolution ever, and allow for the first time a world map derived from one set of data, she said.

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The topographical maps, used in everything from forest preservation to mobile phone tower placement, will be made by getting two radar images from slightly different locations, then measuring the differences.

Once in orbit, Endeavour's crew will deploy a 200-foot (60-meter) mast, the longest fixed structure ever to fly in space, from the shuttle's cargo bay so the radar readings will be sufficiently offset.

The mast, made of carbon fiber and reinforced plastic, is expected to whip about like a fishing rod whenever Endeavour fires its engines, so the astronauts have developed a special maneuver they call "fly-casting" to help stabilize the mast.

To make sure no part of the planet is missed as they pass over it, the crew will keep everything running 24 hours a day by working in two shifts.

Reuters contributed to this report.