Countdown begins for Tuesday space shuttle launch

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Countdown clocks at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida began ticking on Saturday toward Tuesday's launch of space shuttle Endeavour carrying a Japanese lab section and Canadian-built robot for the International Space Station.

Liftoff is targeted for 2:28 a.m. EDT. Meteorologists predicted clear skies and light breezes, with a 90 percent chance conditions would be suitable for liftoff.

The seven-man Endeavour crew arrived at the Florida spaceport early on Saturday, delayed several hours by a cold front pushing through central Florida that whipped up winds, thunderstorms and sporadic heavy rain.

"We've had some interesting weather over the last 24 hours," shuttle weather officer Todd McNamara told reporters on Saturday.

The crew includes two veteran NASA astronauts: commander Dominic Gorie and lead spacewalker Richard Linnehan; rookies Greg Johnson, Michael Foreman, Robert Behnken and Garrett Reisman; and Japan's Takao Doi, who flew on a shuttle research mission in 1997.

Reisman will replace France's Leopold Eyharts as a member of the space station crew.

"We all just wanted to convey how excited we are to be here for launch week," Gorie said after the crew's belated arrival. "We've got a very, very ambitious flight schedule, but with a great orbiter waiting for us and this great crew, we're going to have a great mission."

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