Space shuttle Endeavour crewmembers (L-R) Chris Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette listen to trainer and Astronaut Rescue Team Leader Capt. George Hoggard as he instructs them on driving an M-113 armored personnel carrier during launch rehearsal exercises at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida June 2, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, June 15 (Xinhua) -- NASA managers on Monday scheduled the next launch attempt of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission for 5:40 a.m. EDT (0940 GMT) on Wednesday. The launch will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    As a result, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) are set to lift off together aboard an Atlas V rocket on Thursday, June 18. There are three launch opportunities from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida -- 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.

    Endeavour was originally scheduled to lift off on June 13, but was postponed because of a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad.

    Endeavour's 16-day STS-127 mission to the International Space Station will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

    The LRO and LCROSS launch was moved to June 18 to accommodate Endeavour's June 17 liftoff. If Thursday's liftoff of the LRO and LCROSS is postponed 24 hours, the launch times Friday are 6:41 p.m., 6:51 p.m. and 7:01 p.m.. Saturday's opportunities are 8:08 p.m.,8:18 p.m. and 8:28 p.m..

    The LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission at a polar orbit of about 31 miles, or 50 kilometers, the closest any spacecraft has orbited the moon. The primary objective of the LRO is to conduct investigations to prepare for future explorations of the moon.

    Launching with the LRO is LCROSS, a partner mission that will search for water ice on the moon by sending the spent upper-stage Centaur rocket, about the size of a sports utility vehicle, to impact part of a polar crater in permanent shadows. The LCROSS will fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and measure the properties before also colliding with the lunar surface.