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NASA News Briefs and Releases BBSNews 2007 Compiled by Kandy Ringer |
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| Space Shuttle Atlantis, mounted on a mobile launch platform, rests on the hard stand of Launch Pad 39A after an early morning rollout.
Image Courtesy: NASA, ESA, M.J. Jee and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University) |
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For the image shown above in a larger size, please see: Space Shuttle Atlantis, mounted on a mobile launch platform, rests on the hard stand of Launch Pad 39A after an early morning rollout. More NASA images are available in BBSNews Photos. |
NASA via BBSNews - 2007-06-06 -- The countdown for the launch of space shuttle mission STS-117 began as planned Tuesday at 9 p.m. EDT, when clocks in the Launch Control Center began counting backward from the T-43 hour mark. Launch is scheduled for 7:38 p.m. EDT Friday.
Mission: STS-117 - 21st International Space Station Flight (13A) - S3/S4 Truss Segment Solar Arrays
Vehicle: Atlantis (OV-104)
Location: Launch Pad 39A
Launch Date: June 8, 2007
Crew: Sturckow, Archambault, Reilly, Swanson, Forrester, Olivas and Anderson
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Atlantis' astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center Monday evening and have been practicing landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft, conducting fit checks of their launch-and-entry suits, reviewing their timelines and undergoing medical exams.
Launch preparations continue as planned. Following a four-hour built-in hold at the T-27 hour mark, the countdown resumes at 6:30 p.m. EDT today. Transfer of the hydrogen and oxygen reactants will then begin. These will flow through the orbiter mid-body umbilical unit into the power reactant storage and distribution system tanks located beneath the payload bay. These reactants will be used by Atlantis to generate power during the mission. The umbilical unit will be secured once this loading is complete at about 1 a.m. EDT Thursday, when the countdown enters a hold at the T-19 hour mark.
There is a 30-percent chance that conditions will not meet the weather criteria for launch Friday. The main concern is thunderstorms with associated anvil clouds.