NASA engineers are loading a half-million gallons of supercold propellant into Endeavour's external tank as the agency presses ahead with a sixth attempt to get the shuttle and seven astronauts en route to the International Space Station.
The and a crew led by veteran mission commander Mark Polansky are scheduled to blast off from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 6:03 p.m. -- the middle of a 10-minute window of opportunity to set sail for the orbital outpost.
The weather forecast is favorable. Meteorologists say there is a 60 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for launch.
The prime concern remains the same as it has been: there is chance that seasonal afternoon-and-evening thunderstorms or rain could creep within 20 nautical miles of the shuttle landing strip at KSC at launch time.
You can check out the details in this Official Weather Forecast from the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron. The group provides forecasting services for all launches from KSC and nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Today's attempt could be historic.
A launch scrub would tie the all-time record. The STS-61C mission in January 1986 and the STS-73 mission in October 1995 both were scrubbed six times before finally flying on a seventh attempt.
The STS-73 mission was delayed an additional time after Columbia reached the launch pad but before a countdown picked up. So in NASA semantics, that was considered a delay rather than a scrub.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
5 comments:
Total waste when it's going to be cancelled again. Look at the forecast NASA; stop wasting money!
What a waste! Check the forecast!
Anonymous:
The forecast is 60-percent "go," and it would be much more expensive to wait around for chamber-of-commerce conditions. Keep in mind, the weather doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be good enough....
You never know what the weather will do. You have to give it a chance if the weather seems to be good. Kudos for them not trying yesterday...although with our luck the weather was probably GO at what would have been launch time!
Besides, the money wasted on launch scrubs is pennies compared what is being blown out the window for this Ares program that will never see the light of day. we'll have a 1-X test launch, and that's it. It's just another reason to keep the shuttles flying.
Love your reports, Todd...keep 'em coming.
Mark
The weather isn't going to be "good enough".
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