Scheduling conflict: NASA to launch shuttle Endeavour same day as royal wedding

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One giant step for Prince William and a calendar conflict for NASA. The space agency is launching the shuttle Endeavour on its final mission on the same day that William marries Kate Middleton. I'm no fan of the Royals, but I do realize that eyes in Britain and North America will largely be glued to the regal extravaganza, and likely not on the shuttle launch.

NASA was unaware that the shuttle Endeavour's final mission was on the same day as the royal wedding. "The frank answer is no," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for space operations, said when asked if the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was a factor in the shuttle scheduling.
"I didn't realize when the wedding was when we moved the launch date," said Gerstenmaier. The shuttle was scheduled to launch on April 19 and was later postponed to April 29. "We kind of set that date independently."


"I haven't yet put on our manifest charts 'wedding constraints' so we did not factor that in," he said.

Endeavour is the second last shuttle launch for NASA. The final launch will be in June when Atlantis launches and officially ends the 30-year-old space shuttle program. I think I'll stick with the launch and watch William's next wedding. Maybe Kate should do the same, given the track record of the previous royal generation.

Credit NASA