STS-134, ATV-2 launch dates modified

The shuttle Endeavour's launch on a flight to deliver a $2 billion particle physics experiment to the International Space Station will slip one day, to Feb. 27, 2011, to accommodate the delayed launch of an unmanned European cargo ship.

Under the revised schedule, the European Space Agency's second Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally scheduled for launch in December, will take off atop an Ariane 5 rocket Feb. 15 and dock at the space station's aft port on Feb. 26.

Endeavour will take off around 3:38 p.m. EST the following day and dock at the lab's forward port around 12:30 p.m. on March 1. If that schedule holds up, landing would be expected around 10:40 a.m. on March 11.

European Space Agency officials say the ATV launch delay was caused by conflicts with the commercial Ariane manifest and processing requirements at the launch site in French Guiana.