The space shuttle Endeavour returns to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida Aug. 21,

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- NASA confirmed the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour will launch on March 11 for a 16-day mission, according to media reports Sunday.

The NASA mission management on Friday confirmed the official launch time of the Endeavour. On March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT, the space shuttle will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

It will be the first of three flights to deliver a huge Japanese research complex to the International Space Station.

NASA's new shuttle program manager, John Shannon, said: "It will be a long and complicated flight. The crew has five spacewalks and the shuttle carries major space station pieces from two countries: Japan and Canada."

The Endeavour crew includes two of NASA's most experienced fliers, four rookies and Japan's Takao Doi, who participated in a shuttle research mission in 1997.