NASA to launch satellite for critical mapping mission

The Aquarius satellite will give researchers more data about climate change.NEW: Aquarius Sea Surface Salinity satellite launched FridayIt will generate maps of sea salt movements to aid the understanding of climate changeProject is a joint effort with the Argentine space agency

Washington (CNN) -- NASA launched a satellite Friday, starting a three-year mission to help better understand climate change.

NASA sent the Aquarius/SAC-D Sea Surface Salinity satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

For the next three years, the Aquarius satellite will look back at Earth and generate monthly maps of sea salt movements, data that are crucial to the understanding of global climate change and ocean currents.

The project will give scientists the information they need to better predict El Nino and La Nina tropical climate patterns in the Pacific. Until now, such research has been limited to ship and buoy instrumentation.

The long-term project, which began in 2001, is the culmination of a joint effort between NASA and Argentina's National Space Activities Commission.

Program executive Eric Ianson said the launch "represents a great leap forward for the two agencies and (their) collaborations."

The Delta II rocket carried an Argentine-built satellite with American data-gathering instruments. The mission will also serve as an environmental data-gathering project for Brazil, France, Italy and Canada.

It was delayed once this week because of a guidance computer problem.

The $287 million satellite will provide insights into water circulation and changes around the globe by measuring the microwave energy emitted from the ocean during weekly scans.

The mission begins to fulfill part of President Barack Obama's 2010 pledge to focus NASA more on "science that will garner tangible benefits, helping us to protect our environment for future generations."

Aquarius is the 14th NASA Earth Science satellite in space.

CNN's Veronica Foreman contributed to this report.

CNN

Gadhafi loyalists launch new push against Misrata

(CNN) -- Forces loyal to embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi launched a new attack on the rebel-held city of Misrata on Wednesday, with anti-government forces reporting intense shelling from three sides of the city.

Thousands of government troops attacked around 6 a.m. (11 p.m. Tuesday ET), with 13 rebels reported dead by evening. Mohamed Mokhtar, a rebel fighter wounded in Wednesday's fighting, accused government troops of infiltrating rebel lines in cars bearing rebel flags.

Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman for Misrata's Hekma hospital, said it was the bloodiest day in a week in the besieged city. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed since the fighting began there in February, including 686 registered residents of the city, he said.

Rebel fighters returning from the front lines reported that their defenses were holding up under the onslaught, however.

The assault followed a day of intense bombardment of Libya's capital by the NATO alliance, which intervened in the conflict in March under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians as Gadhafi tried to crush the revolt against him. Libya's government said 60 missiles struck the capital city, killing at least 31 people, including a number of civilians, and wounding dozens more.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated Wednesday that the alliance is doing all it can to avoid civilian casualties. But he told reporters from allied headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, that NATO could continue the airstrikes "for as long as it takes to bring this crisis to an early conclusion."

Rasmussen said NATO bombing has saved lives in Libya, and that the alliance has the resources to extend its military mission for another 90 days past the end of June.

It is time to start planning for what to do after Gadhafi's departure "because Gadhafi's reign of terror is coming to an end," he said.

Pressed by reporters on why airstrikes would be able to dislodge Gadhafi when "the history of the last 30 years" shows that air attacks alone do not win wars, Rasmussen offered no clear answer, saying only, "We have no intentions to put troops on the ground."

For his part, even as NATO airstrikes bombarded his Tripoli compound, Gadhafi vowed Tuesday that "we will not surrender."

"I am now speaking as planes and bombs fall around me," Gadhafi said in a live audio broadcast on state television. "But my soul is in God's hand. We will not think about death or life. We will think about the call of duty."

The Gadhafi compound was under "intensive continuous bombardment," according to state TV, which reported buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. But government spokesman Musa Ibrahim said the allied campaign "is failing miserably."

"No one has the right to shape Libya's future except for Libyans," he said.

Ibrahim said Tuesday's morning blasts hit the popular guard compound and the revolution compound, which are military barracks near Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound. The spokesman said attacks Tuesday and Wednesday hit state television buildings, killing two people and wounding 16.

NATO disputed the account.

"We did not target or hit the Libyan broadcast facilities. What we did target was the military intelligence headquarters in downtown Tripoli," the alliance said. "The story coming from Libyan officials that we targeted and hit the state broadcaster's building is bogus."

CNN's Amir Ahmed, Richard Allen Greene, Raja Razek, Dan Rivers and Jonathan Wald contributed to this report.

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Belfast Celebrates the Centenary of the 'Titanic' Launch (Time.com)

One hundred years ago on Tuesday, the Titanic - then the largest and most luxurious ship in the world - slid down the greased slipways from her building berth and into the waters of Victoria Channel in Belfast Harbor. It was a moment of enormous pride and emotion for the men who had built her, and the euphoria of the cheering crowds was reflected in contemporary accounts of the launch. "If the circumstances under which the launch took place can be accepted as an augury of the future," said one Belfast newspaper, "the Titanic should be a huge success." John Parkinson's father Frank worked on the ship and watched as the great liner was launched. "I remember asking him, 'How can a ship that big stay up in the water?'" said Parkinson. "My father's response was instant: 'Johnny, that ship will always stay up in the water.'"

But less than a year later, on the night of April 14, 1912, the Titanic's maiden voyage ended in disaster when the ship sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The iceberg she struck ripped a 300-ft.-long (90 m) gash in her steel hull, and the vast inrush of water took her down, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people. Back in Belfast, shipyard worker Frank Parkinson broke down and sobbed when he heard the news. (See a brief history of the Titanic's discovery.)

Before the world commemorates the centennial of the Titanic's sinking next year, Belfast has decided to celebrate the ship's launch, to remind people - including those in Belfast itself - of the city's ship-building legacy. As maritime historian and Titanic expert Michael McCaughan notes, the ship was built to the highest standards of safety. "She was at the pinnacle of naval architecture and marine engineering," says McCaughan. "With her double bottom and system of bulkheads with 16 virtually watertight compartments, she was designed to be her own lifeboat in the event of an accident."

The fact that the Titanic was a feat of engineering is often overshadowed by the ship's terrible end. For many years after the sinking, the fate of the Titanic was a taboo subject in the city where she was built. John Andrews, the great-nephew of Thomas Andrews, chief designer of the Titanic, says the disaster was never spoken of in his family "because it was such a terrible tragedy. It wasn't talked about in Belfast either ... There was always this sense of shame." Ian Frost's grandfather Anthony Wood Frost - known as Artie - was a member of the Guarantee Group, an elite troubleshooting team of engineers who accompanied the Titanic on her maiden voyage. The younger Frost also remembers his family's silence about the ship. "When the Titanic sank, it was terrible for my grandmother, very painful," he says. "She never really spoke about it again. Her youngest child was only 2 at the time, and it was days before she found out whether Artie had survived or not." It soon emerged that all the members of the Guarantee Group had perished. (See new images of the Titanic's wreckage.)

But in Belfast today, the residual sense of shame about the disaster is fading, to be replaced with a more confident, commercially minded attitude and a renewed pride in the city's extraordinary maritime history. As historian McCaughan notes, "The Titanic is now being celebrated in her homeland as an important agent of economic, social and cultural regeneration." The city is holding a range of events, readings and tours to celebrate the centenary of the launch, and work is well under way on the Titanic Signature Building, an eye-catching new visitor attraction that tells the ship's story and showcases the history of shipbuilding and seafaring in Belfast. Costing $160 million and designed to establish Belfast as the home of the Titanic, it is a must-visit destination on the international Titanic pilgrimage trail.

"There is so much to be proud of," says Una Reilly, chair of the Belfast Titanic Society. "In celebrating the launch of the Titanic, we're not celebrating a piece of steel, we're celebrating the achievements, the craftsmanship of the workers. The centenary of the launch is an opportunity to get a different story about the Titanic out." Not everyone is comfortable with making Belfast synonymous with the Titanic. After all, she is a potent global symbol of tragedy and the shipwreck of dreams. But enthusiasts insist that what happened to the Titanic was not the fault of the men who made her. "The succession of elementary errors that took place on the ship's maiden voyage - people not paying attention to each other, not paying attention to messages coming through on the wireless - these mistakes were the reason the Titanic sank," says Andrews of the ship his great-uncle designed. "There was nothing wrong with the ship herself." (See if bacteria could destroy the Titanic's remains.)

Which may be true. But there is still the fact that although there were 2,201 people on board, the Titanic had only enough lifeboat capacity for 1,178. "There was no effective lifesaving Plan B to prevent the passengers and crew perishing in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic," says McCaughan. And it was that one simple oversight that ultimately turned the Titanic from the greatest ship in the world to a byword for disaster.

See if the Titanic steered into the iceberg.

See the Titanic in the top 10 clashes at sea.

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Pakistan to launch operation in N. Waziristan: report (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan has decided to launch an air and ground military offensive in North Waziristan, the main sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban on the border with Afghanistan, a newspaper reported on Monday.

The United States has long demanded that Pakistan launch an offensive in the region to hunt down the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest Afghan militant factions fighting American troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been reluctant, but has come under intense U.S. pressure to attack militancy after it was discovered that Osama bin Laden had been living there.

The News newspaper quoted unnamed "highly placed sources" as saying Pakistani airforce planes would soften up militant targets under the "targeted military offensive" before ground operations were launched.

The newspaper said an understanding had been reached over the offensive during last week's visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

A U.S. embassy official said he was checking into the report. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment.

Pakistan has maintained that its troops were already too stretched fighting Pakistani Taliban insurgents in other parts of the northwest to tackle North Waziristan.

But analysts say Pakistan sees the Haqqani network as an asset to counter the growing influence of rival India in Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Michael Georgy and Miral Fahmy)

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Live Nation, Guy Oseary launch online photo gallery (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – This week, Untitled Entertainment partner Guy Oseary and Live Nation are going live with a joint web venture RockPaperPhoto.com, an online art gallery selling largely unpublished, hand-signed, limited-edition prints of more than 1,000 singers and acts ranging from B.B. King and James Brown to Green Day and Gwen Stefani.

The site features the work of 70 photographers including such recognized names as Baron Wolman, Ian Dickson, Deborah Feingold and Michael Putland. RockPaperPhoto museum-quality processes include silver gelatin, archival chromogenic, platinum print and archival print, with entry prices at $250 running to a top-tier of $10K.

The website is a bit of a passion project for Oseary, who manages the careers of Madonna and Alex Rodriguez among others and is also the exec producer of "Last Call with Carson Daly." He was the architect of Madonna's landmark 2007 deal with Live Nation.

"I've been collecting photos for a long time, I mean since I started making money. But what you have had to go through to find a good photo is like a needle in the haystack sometimes. You'll drive from one gallery to the next gallery to the next gallery. It's not an easy process. It's a very ancient model that just hasn't caught up with the times," says Oseary. "So I really came up with this idea out of frustration."

Oseary first discussed the concept with Live Nation CEO/president Michael Rapino over dinner a few years ago. "We've been talking about it for a while and we finally said, 'Just go for it.' I really wanted to create a place where you could just sit back and be able to discover great photography instead of specifically going to a gallery to find one," says the manager.

He says his own collection of photos numbers around 200, including a number of shots of The Sex Pistols and John Lennon by Bob Gruen (who is not featured on the site). "Those were the ones that when I made my first dollar I decided to invest in," he says.

Says photographer Tom Murray, whose famous 1968 photos of the Beatles are on the site: "It runs the gamut from Frank Sinatra to Justin Bieber and it suits everyone's pocketbooks. It's all limited editions - they are interested in low numbers and high quality."

Among Murray's photos is his famous, or perhaps infamous, shot of John Lennon playing dead in a park while his three bandmates look on.

"We were taking other pictures and suddenly he dropped to the ground and pretended to be dead. Twelve years later when it actually happened it was very spooky. It's a very controversial picture. Beatles fans either love it or hate it," says Murray.

RockPaperPhoto shares profits 50/50 with artists, a traditional split in the bricks-and-mortar art gallery world.

The site is one of many recent forays into the digital world by Oseary. He was instrumental in developing GrouponLive, a discount-tickets joint venture, announced May 11, between Groupon (for whom he advises) and Live Nation.

Last year, he formed a digital investment partnership with Ashton Kutcher called A-Grade which has helped fund such recent start-ups as video-chat service TinyChat, anonymous-flirting hub LikeALittle and GrubWithUs, a website for finding like-minded people to dine with. "We are making a lot of investments," says Oseary.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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NASA fuels space shuttle Endeavour for Monday launch

(CNN) -- The space shuttle Endeavour is set to lift off Monday on its final trip into space.

Forecasts indicate a 70% chance of favorable weather for the scheduled 8:56 a.m. ET launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

An estimated 500,000 people are expected to be on hand, said Michael D. Leinbach, NASA's shuttle launch director.

The mission will be commanded by Mark Kelly. His wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, arrived safely at the space center on Sunday, NASA said, four months after being shot in the head during an apparent assassination attempt at a public event in Tucson, Arizona. After initial treatment in Arizona, Giffords has been undergoing rehabilitation at the TIRR Memorial Hermann center in Houston.

NASA announced her arrival in a tweet, and a similar announcement was posted on her Facebook page.

Giffords, along with President Barack Obama, were in Florida on April 29, when Endeavour was originally slated to launch. But that liftoff was scrubbed because of a problem with a heater aboard the shuttle.

"The system looks good, the weather looks good, and we should be in good shape for launch," Mike Moses, launch integration manager for the NASA's space shuttle program, told reporters. "In our minds, we are good to go."

Farewell, my space shuttle

In a Monday morning tweet, mission specialist Col. Mike Fincke wrote, "Dear God, please bless our crew. Help us in our mission and to return safely home."

Fincke added, "please help me not to mess anything up."

Moses said the heater problem has been fixed. He said that while additional checks will be conducted on the heater and other systems prior to launch, no mechanical problems were anticipated.

With the delay, Endeavour is now scheduled to return to Earth on June 1. That is the same day the space shuttle Atlantis is slated to roll out to the launch pad in anticipation of the final mission in the space shuttle program's 30-year history.

The shuttle program's end --and the uncertainly surrounding the future of NASA and the U.S. space program -- has been a hot topic in recent months. Leinbach acknowledged Saturday that "the mood is a little bit downcast" in the space agency, especially as some NASA employees recently received notices warning that they could lose their jobs.

"The timing is a little unfortunate, but we've all known it's been coming," he said.

Endeavour entered service in 1992 as a replacement for the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger. Leinbach, who was a test director for that inaugural mission, said the orbiter remains in prime condition 19 years later.

"She still looks awfully good out there," said Leinbach. "She's got a lot of life left in her, but that's not meant to be."

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NASA sets Endeavour launch for May 16

A short in a heater circuit caused the cancellation of Endeavour's April 29 launch.The space shuttle Endeavour had a short circuit on its April 29 launch dateTechnicians worked over the weekend to repair and retest the electrical system

(CNN) -- The final launch of space shuttle Endeavour is now scheduled for May 16 after a delay caused by an electrical fault, NASA said Monday.

The next launch attempt will be at 8:56 a.m. EDT, said NASA Space Shuttle Program Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses.

NASA had previously said that the final flight for Endeavour would be no earlier than May 16. Before that, it had said the launch wouldn't be before May 10.

A short in the heater circuit associated with the orbiter's hydraulic system caused the cancellation of Endeavour's April 29 launch, officials said. Technicians worked over the weekend to repair and retest the electrical system.

NASA repair crews replaced a faulty switch box last week and installed and tested new wiring. The heater system is working properly now, they said.

The flight is the last planned mission for Endeavour as NASA retires its shuttle fleet. The orbiter entered service in 1992 as a replacement for the ill-fated Challenger.

The scrubbed April 29 launch postponed what promised to be an emotional moment for the shuttle's commander, Mark Kelly.

Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, traveled to Florida hoping to watch the shuttle's ascent. Giffords was shot in the head during a January 8 assassination attempt at a public event in Tucson, Arizona, and has been recovering at a Houston rehabilitation hospital.

Giffords later returned to the TIRR Memorial Hermann center in Houston, according to a post on her Facebook page. She is expected to attend the next launch attempt.

CNN's Rich Phillips and John Couwels contributed to this report.

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NASA: Endeavour launch postponed again, to after May 10

When Endeavour does launch, it will be the space shuttle's final mission.The space shuttle Endeavour had a short circuit on its April 29 launch dateNASA technicians are looking at what caused the circuit to short outThe flight will be Endeavour's final one

(CNN) -- The rescheduled launch date of the space shuttle Endeavour, whose mission was scrubbed last week due to an electrical problem, remained uncertain Wednesday, but sources told CNN the next liftoff could be as late as May 13.

The launch, which will be the final flight for the Endeavour, won't be any earlier than May 10, NASA said.

Technicians continue to test the electrical system to determine what caused a circuit to short out, causing the cancellation of Endeavour's April 29 launch, officials said. The liftoff was delayed until this past Monday and then to no earlier than May 10 at 11:21 a.m., officials said.

NASA repair crews have already replaced the power distribution box that shorted out a circuit supplying power to heaters for the orbiter's hydraulics system.

The scrubbed April 29 launch postponed what promised to be an emotional moment for the shuttle's commander, Mark Kelly.

Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, traveled to Florida to watch the shuttle's ascent. Giffords was shot in the head during a January 8 assassination attempt at a public event in Tucson, Arizona. She has been recovering at a Houston rehabilitation hospital.

Giffords returned Sunday to Houston and TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital, according to a post on her Facebook page.

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Endeavour won't launch Monday, NASA says

Photographers check their equipment at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Saturday.NEW: Giffords is back in Houston, will travel to Florida again for the launchThe earliest possible launch date is May 8, NASA saysThe initial launch was delayed for at least 72 hours on FridayThe delay was prompted by concerns over the shuttle's heating system

Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN) -- A plan to launch the space shuttle Endeavour on Monday has been scrubbed, and a new launch likely will not come before the end of the week at the earliest, officials said Sunday.

Endeavour's final launch was delayed by at least 72 hours Friday because of concerns about the shuttle's heating system. Monday was the earliest possible liftoff date following the delay.

As part of NASA's examination of the problem, officials said, the external fuel tank was drained of its hydrogen and oxygen propellants Friday night.

A new launch date has not been set, Mission Management Team chairman Mike Moses told reporters Sunday, but "it's not going to be any earlier than the 8th."

The problem has been determined to be "a power problem." he said.

The crew, their families and support staff were being allowed to travel home, Moses said.

The delay postponed what promised to be an emotional moment for the shuttle's commander, Mark Kelly. Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, traveled to Florida to watch the shuttle's ascent. Giffords was nearly killed January 8 when she was shot in the head by a would-be assassin at a public event in Tucson, Arizona. She has been recovering at a Houston rehabilitation hospital.

Giffords flew back to Houston and TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital on Sunday, according to a post on her official Facebook page. She will have "a couple days of good therapy" before traveling back to Florida for the launch, the post said.

After the launch, Giffords' office said in a statement that "Congresswoman Giffords is disappointed that Endeavour was unable to launch today, but realizes that mission safety must come first. Launch delays are not uncommon with the space shuttle," the statement said. "We are looking forward to the quick rescheduling of this scientifically important mission. The congresswoman was pleased, however, to have been able to meet with President Obama and the first family."

President Barack Obama and the first lady also went to the launch site, and Obama personally visited with Giffords for about 10 minutes, a White House official said. Obama also met the entire Endeavour crew, including Kelly.

Kelly was tapped to lead a crew that includes pilot Gregory Johnson; mission specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel; and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori.

Endeavour has logged more than 103 million miles in space, blasting off 24 times, but its 25th flight will be its last.

As NASA's shuttle program winds down with the last launch scheduled this summer, many in the astronaut corps are wrestling with what to do next. For the foreseeable future, Russian rockets will be the only way for U.S. astronauts to get to space.

Fincke spent a total of a year in space on the International Space Station, getting there and back twice on Russian rockets. But Friday's delayed flight will be his first on the shuttle.

Four spacewalks are planned for the mission. The space walkers will retrieve experiments, install new ones, refill tanks and lubricate parts at the International Space Station.

In its cargo bay, Endeavour will carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. At $1.5 billion, it is the most expensive piece of equipment a space shuttle has ever carried.

The spectrometer is designed to capture space particles like anti-matter and dark matter that scientists know very little about but believe exist in the universe. The spectrometer will be mounted outside the International Space Station. If it's successful, it could lead to a better understanding of how our universe began and evolved.

CNNRadio's Steve Kastenbaum contributed to this report.

"I bet you were hoping to see a rocket launch today," Endeavour's Mark Kelly said to President Obama, who replied, "We were hoping to see you."The president met Friday with shooting victim Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who's awaiting Endeavour's launch with her astronaut husband.NASA's shuttle program accomplished a tremendous amount, but in some ways it fell short of its original purpose.A plan to launch the space shuttle Endeavour on Monday has been scrubbed, officials said Sunday.As Endeavour takes on its final mission, the man who commanded the spacecraft's maiden flight in '92 is nostalgic and hopeful.Astronauts eat pretty well up there: links and eggs, chicken and mashed potatoes, apples and candy bars. But there's a catch.For Endeavour's commander Mark Kelly, there was good news.Today's five most popular stories

CNN

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Endeavour won't launch Monday, NASA says

Photographers check their equipment at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Saturday.NEW: Giffords is back in Houston, will travel to Florida again for the launchThe earliest possible launch date is May 8, NASA saysThe initial launch was delayed for at least 72 hours on FridayThe delay was prompted by concerns over the shuttle's heating system

Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN) -- A plan to launch the space shuttle Endeavour on Monday has been scrubbed, and a new launch likely will not come before the end of the week at the earliest, officials said Sunday.

Endeavour's final launch was delayed by at least 72 hours Friday because of concerns about the shuttle's heating system. Monday was the earliest possible liftoff date following the delay.

As part of NASA's examination of the problem, officials said, the external fuel tank was drained of its hydrogen and oxygen propellants Friday night.

A new launch date has not been set, Mission Management Team chairman Mike Moses told reporters Sunday, but "it's not going to be any earlier than the 8th."

The problem has been determined to be "a power problem." he said.

The crew, their families and support staff were being allowed to travel home, Moses said.

The delay postponed what promised to be an emotional moment for the shuttle's commander, Mark Kelly. Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, traveled to Florida to watch the shuttle's ascent. Giffords was nearly killed January 8 when she was shot in the head by a would-be assassin at a public event in Tucson, Arizona. She has been recovering at a Houston rehabilitation hospital.

Giffords flew back to Houston and TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital on Sunday, according to a post on her official Facebook page. She will have "a couple days of good therapy" before traveling back to Florida for the launch, the post said.

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After the launch, Giffords' office said in a statement that "Congresswoman Giffords is disappointed that Endeavour was unable to launch today, but realizes that mission safety must come first. Launch delays are not uncommon with the space shuttle," the statement said. "We are looking forward to the quick rescheduling of this scientifically important mission. The congresswoman was pleased, however, to have been able to meet with President Obama and the first family."

President Barack Obama and the first lady also went to the launch site, and Obama personally visited with Giffords for about 10 minutes, a White House official said. Obama also met the entire Endeavour crew, including Kelly.

Kelly was tapped to lead a crew that includes pilot Gregory Johnson; mission specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel; and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori.

Endeavour has logged more than 103 million miles in space, blasting off 24 times, but its 25th flight will be its last.

As NASA's shuttle program winds down with the last launch scheduled this summer, many in the astronaut corps are wrestling with what to do next. For the foreseeable future, Russian rockets will be the only way for U.S. astronauts to get to space.

Fincke spent a total of a year in space on the International Space Station, getting there and back twice on Russian rockets. But Friday's delayed flight will be his first on the shuttle.

Four spacewalks are planned for the mission. The space walkers will retrieve experiments, install new ones, refill tanks and lubricate parts at the International Space Station.

In its cargo bay, Endeavour will carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. At $1.5 billion, it is the most expensive piece of equipment a space shuttle has ever carried.

The spectrometer is designed to capture space particles like anti-matter and dark matter that scientists know very little about but believe exist in the universe. The spectrometer will be mounted outside the International Space Station. If it's successful, it could lead to a better understanding of how our universe began and evolved.

CNNRadio's Steve Kastenbaum contributed to this report.

"I bet you were hoping to see a rocket launch today," Endeavour's Mark Kelly said to President Obama, who replied, "We were hoping to see you."The president met Friday with shooting victim Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who's awaiting Endeavour's launch with her astronaut husband.NASA's shuttle program accomplished a tremendous amount, but in some ways it fell short of its original purpose.A plan to launch the space shuttle Endeavour on Monday has been scrubbed, officials said Sunday.As Endeavour takes on its final mission, the man who commanded the spacecraft's maiden flight in '92 is nostalgic and hopeful.Astronauts eat pretty well up there: links and eggs, chicken and mashed potatoes, apples and candy bars. But there's a catch.For Endeavour's commander Mark Kelly, there was good news.Today's five most popular stories

CNN

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NASA: April 29 for next-to-last shuttle launch

permission for his wife to attend the afternoon launch.

Giffords was critically wounded in Tucson, Ariz., three months ago and has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation at a hospital in Houston, home to Kelly and the rest of the astronaut corps.

Launch director Mike Leinbach said he hopes Giffords comes and stressed it would not be a distraction to his team.

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U.S. Rep. Giffords planning to attend husband's shuttle launch

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSRep. Gabrielle Giffords has a brain injury from a gunshot to the head in JanuaryHer husband is Capt. Mark Kelly, commander of the April 29 space shuttle missionGiffords won't be making any public remarks while attending the launch (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, recovering from being shot in the head in a January assassination attempt, is planning to attend the April 29 launch of space shuttle Endeavour that will be commanded by her husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, her spokeswoman said Friday.

Giffords' physicians will have the final word on whether Giffords will be able to attend the launch three weeks from now, but Giffords' congressional office is already making plans for her attendance, said her communications director, C.J. Karamargin.

Giffords, who is recovering at TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, won't meet with the media or make a statement while she is at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the 36th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, Karamargin said in a news release.

After the launch, Giffords' staff is scheduled to discuss publicly her reaction to her husband's latest mission.

Kelly will be commanding a crew of four other Americans and one astronaut from the European Space Agency.

NASA has said the shuttle will be delivering equipment and spare parts for the station, including two communications antennas; a high-pressure gas tank; parts for Dextre, a robot attached to the outside of the space station; and micrometeoroid debris shields.

At a news conference last month, Kelly said his wife was doing "remarkably well."

"She's improving every day," he said, "and in the realm of brain injuries, that is very significant and pretty rare."

At the end of the news conference, Kelly was asked whether training for this mission was more challenging given the obvious distractions of his wife's recovery.

"I think it would have been really challenging if this was my first shuttle flight or if it was even my first flight as a commander of the space shuttle," said Kelly, who has flown three times before -- twice as pilot and once as a commander.

An Arizona Democrat, Giffords is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and she attended Kelly's most recent launch when he commanded the space shuttle Discovery in 2008. His upcoming mission is scheduled to be the last flight for Endeavour and the next-to-last space shuttle flight before the fleet is retired.

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NASA delays next space shuttle launch by 1 1/2 weeks

By Michael R. Brown, AP

NASA is delaying its next space shuttle flight.

EnlargeCloseBy Michael R. Brown, AP

NASA is delaying its next space shuttle flight.

The flight was postponed because the original April 19 date conflicts with Russia's plans to send a cargo ship to the International Space Station.

Endeavour is now scheduled to blast off April 29 with Mark Kelly at the helm. It will be the next-to-last shuttle mission. Shuttle Atlantis will close out the 30-year shuttle program this summer.

NASA announced the postponement Monday, after conferring over the weekend with the Russian Space Agency and other space station partners.

An unmanned Russian cargo ship is set to blast off at the end of April. NASA did not want the craft docking at the space station while Endeavour was still there. Now, the cargo ship will arrive first.

NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said the Russians were reluctant to postpone the supply run because of a time-sensitive biological experiment aboard the craft.

Kelly and five crewmates will deliver a $2 billion physics experiment to the space station, as well as critical spare parts to keep the orbiting outpost running for another decade.

The two-week mission will be the last for Endeavour, the baby of NASA's shuttle fleet. It was built to replace Challenger, which was destroyed during liftoff in 1986.

The postponement puts the launch, scheduled for 3:47 p.m., on the same day as the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Endeavour is checking out fine at the launch pad following last week's severe storms that brought high wind, lightning strikes, hail and even funnel clouds to Kennedy Space Center. Only inconsequential damage was found on the insulating foam of Endeavour's external fuel tank, officials said.

Kelly returned to training in February after taking time off to be at his wife's hospital bedside. Giffords was shot in the head in Tucson, in early January. She is recuperating in Houston, home to Kelly and the rest of NASA's astronaut corps. Kelly said last week that he's awaiting doctors' final approval for his wife to attend his launch.

In Kazakhstan, meanwhile, two Russians and an American were poised to blast off Monday as the newest station crew. They will join three astronauts already in orbit.

Online:

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

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Endeavor launch delayed until April 29

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSShuttle launch delayed for 10 days, NASA says, until April 29Scheduling conflict involved a Russian cargo ship's docking with international space stationEndeavor underwent inspections after minor weather damage last week (CNN) -- The launch of the space shuttle Endeavor, originally scheduled for April 19, has been delayed until April 29, NASA said Monday.

The delay is due to a scheduling conflict with a Russian cargo ship that was scheduled to be docked at the international space station near Endeavor's original launch date, NASA's public information office said.

Endeavor underwent inspections for two days after thunderstorms, hail and a lightning strike last week near the launch pad caused minor damage to insulation foam at the top of the spacecraft.

Six astronauts are scheduled to fly in Endeavor's 36th and final mission later this month. Mark Kelly, the huband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, will command the mission.

Giffords reportedly has plans to attend the launch. She is recovering after being severely wounded in a shooting that killed six people in January in Tucson, Arizona.

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Obama Set to Launch Re-Election Bid, Sources Say

Associated Press

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President Obama is about to make one of Washington's worst kept secrets official: He wants a second term.

Democratic officials familiar with the president's plans said Saturday that Obama intends to file papers as early as this coming week with the Federal Election Commission to launch his 2012 re-election campaign. He also will announce his candidacy to supporters by email and text messages.

The officials asked not to be identified in order to speak before the papers are filed.

That widely anticipated but formal step of registering with the FEC will free Obama to start raising money for the re-election effort, which, like his 2008 campaign, will be run from Chicago.

That fundraising already has begun. Obama netted $1.5 million at a Democratic fundraiser in New York's Harlem this past week. He's also scheduled to travel in the week ahead to headline events in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Obama raised an eye-catching $750 million in 2008.

The president isn't expected to face a primary challenge.

Though a cast of Republican governors, former governors and others are laying the groundwork for a presidential bid, none has entered the race.

As the Obama campaign operation ramps up behind the scenes in terms of money, message and manpower, Obama plans to stay focused on his day job. Aside from the obvious fundraising that will be required of him, Obama intends to stay out of the fray until Republicans settle on a candidate next spring.

Obama's hopes for a second term received a boost Friday after the government said the March unemployment rate had dipped to its lowest level in two years, to 8.8 percent, and that the economy added 216,000 jobs last month.

Polls consistently show the economy is voters' top concern and Republicans plan to make an issue of Obama's handling of the recovery.

Obama said Friday's numbers mean the "economy is showing signs of real strength" as it continues to recover from the recession that wiped out 7.5 million jobs.

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