Shuttle Discovery is on its Kennedy Space Center launch pad today after an overnight move from its 52-story assembly building, a trip considered a major milestone to a planned April 5 launch.
With the shuttle mounted atop a mobile launcher platform, a giant crawler-transporter parked beneath it edged up onto the launch pad as the sun began to rise over Florida Space Coast. The Apollo-era transporter departed the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:58 p.m. Tuesday and chugged along at a top speed of less than one mph during the 3.5-mile trip to the pad.
Stiff wind gusts were blowing on Florida's Space Coast overnight, but the weather was not a factor. A shuttle rollout or rollback can take place in sustained winds of 40 knots (46 mph) with gusts to 60 knots (69 mph). The winds were forecast to be about 20 knots (23 mph) with gusts to 30 knots (34.5 mph).
Technicians will spend the day making and verifying mechanical and electrical connections between the shuttle, its mobile launcher platform and ground support equipment at the pad.
Discovery's astronauts will hold an informal Q&A with reporters at the pad at 8:40 a.m. Thursday. Live NASA TV coverage will begin at 8:40 a.m. Click the NASA TV box on the right side of the page to launch our NASA TV viewer.
Discovery is scheduled to blast off at 6:27 a.m. April 5 on one of only four missions remaining before shuttle fleet retirement. A four-man, three-woman astronaut crew will haul up an Italian-made cargo carrier full of science racks, supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.
2 comments:
Excellent! Let's have a party on April 5th! Time for those who have not visited the Space Center to do so! Thank you FT for keeping us informed.
Could we drop this term, blast off? The correct term is , launch. I don't think Shorty Powers (remember him?) would approve of , blast off. An early Range Rat.
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