NASA Begins Countdown for Shuttle Launch
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA started the countdown Sunday for the last space shuttle launching of the year, a nighttime ride into orbit by Atlantis with six astronauts and a military surveillance satellite on board.
Liftoff is scheduled for 3:51 p.m. PST Tuesday.
NASA test director Eric Redding said the launch team found no problems. Weather forecasters predicted a 50-50 chance of favorable conditions at launch time.
Technicians today were to fill three battery-like fuel cells that will generate electricity aboard Atlantis. The shuttle itself will be fueled with 528,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen about nine hours before launch.
Mission commander Frederick Gregory and his crew are to release the $300-million missile-warning satellite from Atlantis six hours after liftoff.
It is the first time the Pentagon has provided details to the public about the launching of a Defense Support Program satellite. The military has been sending up satellites on unmanned rockets for 20 years to detect nuclear detonations and space and missile launches.
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