Seven Endeavour astronauts are getting dressed in their orange partial-pressure launch suits before riding out to launch pad 39A. The crew had a final weather breifing with mission controllers in Houston around 2:20 p.m.
Air Force meteorologists expect very similar weather today to the systems that scrubbed Sunday's launch about 10 minutes before a planned liftoff.
"We're pretty much looking for a carbon copy of what we saw yesterday," said Master Sgt. Scott McCormick of the 45th Weather Squadron.
That means sea breezes colliding, probably closer to the coast and earlier than Sunday's storms.
There is a 40 percent chance of favorable weather today and Tuesday, McCormick said.
The weather today is not only a concern for the 6:51 p.m. launch time, but possibly earlier.
That's because a loose cover has exposed a thruster cover, and NASA doesn't want the forward thruster to get filled with water from a shower that could freeze in space.
It's possible storms could clear before launch time, and not dump enough moisture to be a concern for the thruster.
The concerns for launch lightning and cumulus clouds within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad, and showers and thunderstorms within 20 miles of the shuttle landing strip.
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