Atlantis astronauts this morning have begun a dress rehearsal for their scheduled Oct. 10 launch to the Hubble Space Telescope, for a fifth and final servicing mission.Dressed in orange, partial-pressure launch-and-entry spacesuits, the seven-member crew left their quarters at 7:45 a.m. and boarded NASA's silver Astrovan, pausing briefly to wave to assembled media and Kennedy Space Center employees.
"Go, Atlantis!" said Commander Scott Altman, just as if the crew were about to fly.
The astronauts were driven to launch pad 39A, where they were to be strapped into the shuttle.
Along with ground crews and launch center personnel, the crew is following the same procedures that will be in place on their real launch day. The training is called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT.
The countdown was scheduled to end around 11 a.m. Each test ends with a simulated main engine shutdown and pad abort.
Meanwhile, senior shuttle program managers today and Thursday are reviewing whether an Oct. 10 launch is still possible. They are expected to recommend a later date to NASA executives who will make an official decision late next week.
The astronauts lost seven days of valuable training time when Hurricane Ike struck Johnson Space Center in Houston earlier this month. And installation of the Hubble cargo into Atlantis, planned Thursday, is two days behind schedule.
The Atlantis crew returns to Houston today after the mock countdown exercise is completed.
IMAGE NOTE: Click on the image above to enlarge it. Atlantis astronauts wave to reporters and Kennedy Space Center employees this morning before boarding the Atrovan that took them to launch pad 39A for a practice countdown. From left to right, the astronauts are Mike Good, Mike Massimino, Drew Fuestal, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur, Greg Johnson and Scott Altman. Photo credit: Mike Brown, FLORIDA TODAY.
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