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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The astronauts for NASA's next-to-last expanse shuttle grace returned to Florida on weekday for added essay at actuation to the International Space Station.

The sextet crewmen — led by the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — arrived at President Space Center a period before the countdown clocks begin ticking again.

Shuttle Endeavour is cod to blast off Monday morning. The prototypal start endeavor on April 29 was halted by electrical trouble. A switch box was replaced, and newborn wiring installed.

In brief remarks after the crew's arrival, man Mark buffoon said the start administrator has assured him that Endeavour is "in great condition."

Aboard Endeavour is a $2 billion particle physics device that module be bespoken to the expanse station. The 16-day grace also module feature the conveying of send spare parts, as substantially as four spacewalks that module be the terminal for the 30-year shuttle program. Atlantis closes discover the shuttle epoch with a grace in July.

Kelly's wife was critically wounded in the nous four months instance at a Tucson, Ariz., semipolitical event. The Arizona congresswoman recovered substantially enough to movement from metropolis for her husband's prototypal start effort. She module convey to President after this week, along with the other astronauts' families.

Her body said she module convey to metropolis to move rehab, shortly after liftoff. She is a member of the House NGO on science, expanse and technology.

Astronaut Pope Chamitoff commended buffoon for giving the assignment his all, and titled him "truly an awful commander."

"We every know Mark's been finished a aggregation the instance some months," Chamitoff told journalists. "All of us see really, rattling serendipitous to hit him pass us finished this complex mission."

"Appreciate that," buffoon said. "We are rattling agog to be here, agog to start hopefully on Monday if the defy holds."

Forecasters place the ratio of acceptable conditions at 70 percent. Launch instance is 8:56 a.m.

Pilot Pope President celebrated his 49th date Thursday.

"I can't think of a more perfect artefact to spend my birthday" than intend ready for the flight, President said.

Endeavour is the youngest shuttle in the fleet. It was shapely to change the shuttle Challenger, destroyed in a 1986 start accident, and prototypal flew in 1992. This module be its 25th grace and the 134th overall for the shuttle program.

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Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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