Endeavour shuttle ready to launch

The shuttle will deliver the last element of a Japanese laboratory

Space shuttle Endeavour is set to lift off after its planned flight last week was postponed because of a gas leak.

The shuttle's seven crew will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver the last element of a Japanese laboratory aboard the station.
During the shuttle's stay, the ISS will be a temporary home to 13 astronauts - the first time so many have stayed on the station at once.
Nasa is now targeting a launch at 1040 BST (0540 EDT) on Wednesday.
The space agency said there was an 80% chance of favourable weather conditions for the final hours of the countdown to launch.
The hydrogen leak in one of Endeavour's venting systems was detected just hours before the planned launch on Saturday.
The system in question was supposed to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the shuttle's launch pad at Kennedy Space Center.
"Our teams have been working very hard over the last couple of days to get this piece of equipment fixed," said Nasa test director Steve Payne.
Shuttle launch director Pete Nickolenko said the root cause of the leak from Endeavour's external fuel tank had not yet been determined. But he said the team was confident of the integrity of the repair.
Engineers are expected to finish their repairs by the afternoon (local time) on Tuesday.
Over five planned spacewalks lasting some 32.5 hours in total, the astronauts will attach a permanent platform weighing 1.9 tonnes to Japan's Kibo laboratory. This will allow astronauts to carry out experiments in the vacuum of space.
The launch coincides with the first public hearing of the Review of US Human Space Flight Plans Committee in Washington DC. This sweeping independent review of Nasa's manned spaceflight strategy was announced by the White House in May this year.
Among other things, it will examine development of the replacement vehicle for the space shuttle, Ares-Orion, and Nasa's plans to return to the Moon by 2020.
The shuttle's new target date caused a scheduling conflict with the launch of an unmanned spacecraft.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) satellite and its partner mission LCROSS were due to launch on Wednesday. The lift-off has now been pushed back to 18 June.