NASA has begun fueling the space shuttle Endeavour for the mother of all Super Bowl pre-game shows - a predawn blastoff on Sunday that is expected to be the last launch during the night of an orbiter ever. Endeavour and a crew of six astronauts are slated launch toward the International Space Station from a seaside pad here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff is set for 4:39 a.m. EST (0939 GMT), about 14 hours before the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints kick off Super Bowl 44 in South Florida, according to a report of the Associated Press. "It's going to be a special day," said shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach. "We're going to launch Sunday morning and we're going to watch the big game Sunday night." The weather looks good for the launch attempt, with an 80 percent chance of clear skies. But if the launch is delayed, NASA will gladly skip the Super Bowl to get Endeavour ready to fly on Monday. Fueling operations began a bit late due to a glitch with equipment on Endeavour's launch pad gantry. NASA began pumping super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant into the shuttle's 15-story external tank at about 7:47 p.m. EST (0047 GMT). Endeavour's planned 13-day mission is the first of NASA's five final shuttle missions before the space agency retires its aging orbiter fleet later this year. It is NASA's last major construction job to build the 11-year-old station. The shuttle will deliver a new room to the station along with a dome-shaped observation portal lined with windows. They will be installed during three spacewalks by the astronauts, who will be following an overnight work shift. The predawn shuttle launch is also expected to be the last ever to blast off in darkness. "It should be spectacular," said Endeavour commander George Zamka, who will make his second trip to space on the mission.
