Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Hurley was born in Endicott, but now calls the Town of Apalachin home. He is a 1984 graduate of Owego Free Academy.

Hurley entered the Marines and then NASA came calling in 2000.

Endeavour was originally supposed to launch Saturday morning, but
a hydrogen gas leak forced NASA to delay liftoff until Wednesday.

Endeavor's crew is slated to go on a 16-day mission to deliver the final segment of Japan's huge space station lab. If and when the 7 astronauts dock, there will be 13 people together in orbit for the first time.