Shuttle Endeavour is "go" to launch the first of the last five shuttle missions at 4:39 a.m. Sunday.
NASA managers meeting this morning determined that all systems are working well and the the weather forecast looks good, resulting in a unanimous poll to proceed with the countdown as planned.
"We're in really good shape," said Mike Moses, shuttle launch integration manager.
The 130th shuttle mission intends to send a crew of six astronauts on a 13-day flight to deliver the last major addition to the International Space Station.
The Italian-built Node 3, known as Tranquility, and a seven-windowed cupola will be installed and activated, leaving the station 90-percent complete.
"People working on the ISS today are really feeling a great sense of achievement" said Bernardo Patti, International Space Station program manager for the European Space Agency.
Kennedy Space Center workers plan to roll open the rotating tower at launch pad 39A at 8 a.m. Saturday. Storms tonight are expected to clear before the operation.
Fueling of the shuttle's 15-story external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen is scheduled to begin at 7:14 p.m. Saturday.
The forecast is 80-percent "go" for Sunday morning's 10-minute launch window. Conditions are expected to be chilly and windy, but within the necessary limits for liftoff.
"The team is energized, the team is excited about the countdown," said Mike Leinbach, the shuttle launch director. "Looking forward to getting Endeavour off the ground Sunday morning."
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12 comments:
Over twenty years ago Rockwell International sold this Glorified Social Welfare Program to Congress and the US Tax Payers were robbed of several billions over that period of time.
Rockwell said that this was a Space Plane and would take off and land much like an airline would and turn-around time would be in the days and at most weeks. NOT!!!!
The Space Plane never did what Rockwell sold to the taxpayers but that didn't delay the checks from congress into Defense Contractor’s Bank Accounts.
They got rich and we got broke funding the SCAM.
Then along came the Bush's boys who decided it was much more profitable for their contributors (Defense Contractors) to fight wars than it was to explore space, so here we are today.
You should never vote for a Republican Conservative.
That's like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders.
It's getting harder and harder for us to be supportive of the space program, and use OUR money, when they plan these damn launches in the middle of the friggin night!
Thanks for the commentary, Mr. Kennedy.
you guys won't post my best material !
The very first comment posted here was put on by a regular poster to Florida Today, who usually goes by the name "Antagonist". He is anti-NASA, anti-Bush, anti-Brevard. His comments are always negative "Sour Grapes" type comments. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this poster, the rest of us just disregard what he says. Sad, really.
he's a loser...probably frequents soup kitchens
He sounds like Communist, to be honest with you. His words aren't worth air he breathed when typing them.
Some people have no achievements, so they think they do something useful by tearing down the achievements of others. The OP seems to fit the bill. I'd also bet he is one of the conspiracy junkies who thinks we never went to the moon.
I hate that the launch is when it is, but we all know the windows are narrow because of the nature of the mission. Still, I'm going.
I hope all the folks that voted for change are happy now
........................................DeltaDog
Well if we had voted for change much earlier...maybe we wouldn't have to cut the funding for things like this because it all went into a war of a president trying to prove something to his father.
Mission to Mars: Russian ambitious nuclear space project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=854wY7SzbXk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5qvylzZ7-Y
Drove all the way out for nothing. What a bummer.
Jess
www.internet-anonymity.se.tc
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