With Space Debris Cleared, Shuttle Launch Set

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. â€”  Two spacewalking cosmonauts removed an old rubber seal stuck to the international space station, clearing the way for space shuttle Endeavour to lift off today on a flight to the orbiting outpost.

Launch is set for just after sunset amid unprecedented security to guard against terrorist attacks. Endeavour will deliver a new crew of three to the space station.

Endeavour’s flight was delayed Thursday because of a jammed docking mechanism that prevented an unmanned Russian supply ship from latching securely onto the space station. The obstruction turned out to be a piece of debris--an O-ring seal from an earlier supply ship.

In a spacewalk Monday lasting less than three hours, cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin cut away the long, twisted seal and watched in delight as the cargo ship finally clamped down tight to the space station. “Good, guys. Thank you so much,� Russia’s Mission Control radioed.

The cosmonauts brought the pieces of seal inside to be returned to Earth for analysis. The seal is believed to be from a Russian supply ship that departed Nov. 22 with a load of trash and burned up in the atmosphere upon reentry.

NASA postponed Endeavour’s launch until after the spacewalk. The space agency was worried that the arriving shuttle might cause the supply ship to wobble and damage the space station.

The supply ship could not be opened until it was tight against the space station. Once the hatch swung open, the three station residents savored what they called “the smell of the Earth� that drifted out. The ship contains food, clothes and other supplies for the new station crew.

Dezhurov, Tyurin and their American commander, Frank Culbertson, have been living on the space station since August. They will be replaced by two Americans and one Russian, who will stay until May.

The Air Force said the launch pad here will be protected by fighter jets, attack helicopters and extra military guards.

In tribute to those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, Endeavour is carrying more than 6,000 American flags--including one that was flying at the World Trade Center when two hijacked airliners slammed into it.

That flag still smells of smoke, so much so that shuttle commander Dominic Gorie said he dares not unpack it during the 11-day flight for fear it will trigger Endeavour’s smoke alarms.