NASA news conference to update Discovery launch status

NASA has scheduled a news conference at 3 p.m. EST today to discuss shuttle Discovery's launch plans.

The briefing may announce that Discovery will attempt to launch during a mid-December window that would have it flying over the Christmas holiday.

The launch had been set for no earlier than Dec. 3. NASA had planned a press conference Monday for a launch between Dec. 3 and Dec. 6, an event presumably replaced by today's briefing.

The briefing follows a special shuttle program meeting to discuss Discovery's repaired external tank and whether it is safe to fly. Managers may have decided they need more time to complete their analysis.

The next launch window under consideration for Discovery's 11-day mission runs from Dec. 17 to Dec. 20.

Participating in today's news conference will be Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, and John Shannon, the shuttle program manager.

You can watch it live here by clicking on the NASA TV box at right to launch a video player.

At 4 p.m., you can watch astronaut Doug Wheelock hand over command of the International Space Station to colleague Scott Kelly, a day before Wheelock, Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin are scheduled to return to Earth aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.