St. Paul native makes another trip to space

Hi, Mom!
Heidimarie Stefanyshyn-Piper waves to her mother before the launch of her first space shuttle mission in 2006.
ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP/Getty Images

(AP) - NASA officials are optimistic the weather will cooperate for this evening's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour with a Minnesota astronaut aboard.

Conditions are at 70 percent for the launch at 6:55 p.m. Minnesota time.

St. Paul native Heidi Stefanyshyn-Piper will be the lead spacewalker for a repair job that needs to be done on the space station's solar panels. She'll go on three of the four scheduled spacewalks.

Stefanyshn-Piper is a graduate of Derham Hall high school and is making her second shuttle flight.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke wih NASA spokesman Michael Curie about the mission.