With the launch officially set for March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Endeavour is going through its final checks and closeouts.

All pre-launch propellant servicing and troubleshooting was successfully completed on Friday and orbiter aft closeouts continued through Monday.

The STS-123 astronauts are training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for the 16-day flight, which will encompass five spacewalks, making this the longest shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

On Monday, mission managers, flight controllers and the STS-123 crew talked with media about the flight before heading into the home stretch of launch preparations.

Endeavour's seven astronauts are expected to arrive at Kennedy, Friday at 9 p.m. EST.

The flight is commanded by Dominic Gorie with Gregory H. Johnson serving as Pilot. The crew also includes Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Garret Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi.

Image Credit: NASA/JSC