Shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts have been cleared to launch Thursday on a mission to deliver the long-awaited European Columbus science laboratory to the International Space Station.
NASA's Mission Management Team gave the shuttle and its crew a green light for flight at the conclusion of a traditional Launch Minus 2-Day review. Liftoff is being targeted for 2:45 p.m. EST Thursday -- right in the middle of a 10-minute launch window.
"We're all thinking Thursday is the day, regardless of what the weather guy tells you," NASA Launch Director Doug Lyons (above) joked.
Forecasters say there is a 60 percent chance rain and thunderstorms will keep the shuttle grounded.
LeRoy Cain, chairman of NASA's pre-launch MMT, said the agency is confident that problems with engine cutoff sensors have been solved and both the shuttle and its crew are ready to launch.
The decision was made amid a three-day launch countdown that picked up at 5 p.m. Monday here at the Kennedy Space Center. A team of about 150 engineers at NASA's Launch Control Center is stepping through launch preparations and no significant technical issues are being worked at this time.
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