U.S.-Japan spacelab to be launched this week

Two major space missions that will rack up a number of "firsts" are scheduled for launch by the National Aeronautics & Space Administration during the next three weeks. On Sept. 12, if all goes as planned, space shuttle Endeavour will blast off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launching the first joint U.S.-Japanese space-based science mission. Endeavour will spend seven days orbiting Earth, carrying in its cargo bay a laboratory, Spacelab-J, in which seven astronauts will carry out 43 experiments on the effects of microgravity. Moreover, on Sept. 25 a Titan III rocket is slated to lift off with the Mars Observer spacecraft. The flight was postponed from Sept. 16 after the spacecraft was contaminated during precautions taken against Hurricane Andrew. After the spacecraft achieves Earth orbit, it will be boosted on an 11-month journey toward Mars, where it will explore the Red Planet's surface, atmosphere, interior, and magnetic field from a series of different ...