Pope’s live link-up with astronauts in space station

(May 20, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI will be linked up live via satellite on Saturday with the International Space Station as the US space shuttle Endeavour is on its final mission. The audio and video link-up that will be streamed live on the internet site of Vatican Radio (www.vaticanradio.org) and Vatican Television Centre, CTV (www.vatican.va/news_services/television), the broadcasting agencies of the Holy See, is scheduled at 11.56 hours UTC (GMT) on Saturday. While the pontiff is expected to greet all the 12 crew – six based in the station and six onboard the shuttle - the Vatican says he will chat in particular with the two Italian astronauts, Paolo Nespoli and Roberto Vittori who is carrying a silver medal gifted by the Pope. The others on the space station are Russian and American. The last mission of the space shuttle Endeavour, which lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday is also the second-last ever for the ageing US shuttle fleet which is to be retired later this year. The live linkup was originally set for May 4 after Endeavour was due to dock with the station. But an electrical problem set back Endeavour's launch until May 16.