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The launch was pushed back to Sunday after a lightning storm on Friday forced the latest postponement of the mission.
Experts conducting exhaustive tests discovered no damage to the shuttle or its electrical systems after lightning struck the Kennedy Space Center, including the mast atop the scaffolding on launchpad 39A where Endeavour was pointing skyward awaiting liftoff.
"The technical team cleared the lightning event," spokesman Allard Beutel said.
The latest delay spelled tension for Endeavour's crew and the NASA experts who were forced to abandon the shuttle's launch three times.
Two previous launch attempts were scuttled by potentially hazardous fuel leaks, apparently caused by a misaligned plate linking a hydrogen gas vent line with the external fuel tank.
The US space agency said the problem has been fixed, and on Sunday successfully filled Endeavour's external fuel tanks with some two million liters (half a million gallons) of low-temperature liquid hydrogen.
"We are very happy with the repair and this was the last major hurdle, and I think today is our day," NASA test director Steve Payne said.
NASA said Sunday's three-hour fuel fill-up went off without a hitch.
"After monitoring closely, no leaks were detected," NASA TV official commentator Candrea Thomas said.
NASA weather forecasters gave a 70-percent chance of favorable launch conditions, an improvement on Friday's stormy weather, which produced at least 11 lightning strikes that hit the space center.
NASA said it postponed Saturday's launch in order to complete a thorough evaluation of the shuttle's operating systems.
Moses said 38 items were successfully retested, and that particular attention was paid to "hazardous systems" on the shuttle including its solid rocket boosters to ensure they were not damaged by the lightning strikes.
Endeavour's crew -- including six Americans and one Canadian -- has prepared for a 16-day voyage to the International Space Station.
There they were expected to install a platform for astronauts to conduct experiments in the vacuum of space, 350 kilometers (220 miles) above Earth's surface.
Among the crew, Canadian Julie Payette, an electrical and information engineer, is the only woman on board.
She has been into space before, as have two other members of the crew, including shuttle commander Mark Polansky.
The crew's four other members will be on their maiden space voyage.
American aerospace engineer Tim Kopra, 46, will replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, spending several months aboard the floating space station.
He would be the latest addition to the permanent crew of the ISS, which is a joint collaboration between 16 different countries.
The astronauts were also expected also undertake repair and replacement work, including installing six new batteries in the ISS.
That mission will require two astronauts to conduct five space walks totaling 32.5 hours.
Kibo's two pressurized modules were attached to the ISS in 2008, along with the European lab Columbus.
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Experts conducting exhaustive tests discovered no damage to the shuttle or its electrical systems after lightning struck the Kennedy Space Center, including the mast atop the scaffolding on launchpad 39A where Endeavour was pointing skyward awaiting liftoff.
"The technical team cleared the lightning event," spokesman Allard Beutel said.
The latest delay spelled tension for Endeavour's crew and the NASA experts who were forced to abandon the shuttle's launch three times.
Two previous launch attempts were scuttled by potentially hazardous fuel leaks, apparently caused by a misaligned plate linking a hydrogen gas vent line with the external fuel tank.
The US space agency said the problem has been fixed, and on Sunday successfully filled Endeavour's external fuel tanks with some two million liters (half a million gallons) of low-temperature liquid hydrogen.
"We are very happy with the repair and this was the last major hurdle, and I think today is our day," NASA test director Steve Payne said.
NASA said Sunday's three-hour fuel fill-up went off without a hitch.
"After monitoring closely, no leaks were detected," NASA TV official commentator Candrea Thomas said.
NASA weather forecasters gave a 70-percent chance of favorable launch conditions, an improvement on Friday's stormy weather, which produced at least 11 lightning strikes that hit the space center.
NASA said it postponed Saturday's launch in order to complete a thorough evaluation of the shuttle's operating systems.
Moses said 38 items were successfully retested, and that particular attention was paid to "hazardous systems" on the shuttle including its solid rocket boosters to ensure they were not damaged by the lightning strikes.
Endeavour's crew -- including six Americans and one Canadian -- has prepared for a 16-day voyage to the International Space Station.
There they were expected to install a platform for astronauts to conduct experiments in the vacuum of space, 350 kilometers (220 miles) above Earth's surface.
Among the crew, Canadian Julie Payette, an electrical and information engineer, is the only woman on board.
She has been into space before, as have two other members of the crew, including shuttle commander Mark Polansky.
The crew's four other members will be on their maiden space voyage.
American aerospace engineer Tim Kopra, 46, will replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, spending several months aboard the floating space station.
He would be the latest addition to the permanent crew of the ISS, which is a joint collaboration between 16 different countries.
The astronauts were also expected also undertake repair and replacement work, including installing six new batteries in the ISS.
That mission will require two astronauts to conduct five space walks totaling 32.5 hours.
Kibo's two pressurized modules were attached to the ISS in 2008, along with the European lab Columbus.
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