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Shuttle Atlantis launch preps going smoothly BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: September 4, 2006
"Everything is tracking extremely well, we're tracking no issues at this time," said NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding. "We'll continue through our engine checkouts later on tonight and then we'll work towards power up of our ground communications network and do that checkout at nine thirty Tuesday morning. Rotation of our rotating service structure is planned for three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. We will, of course, be watching the weather on that." Afternoon thunderstorms could hold up rotation of the massive launch pad gantry, but no major problems are expected. Assuming the countdown stays on track, engineers will begin loading Atlantis' huge external tank with liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket fuel around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday for a launch attempt at 12:28:49 p.m. "Atlantis and her crew have been waiting for years to complete this mission and thanks to Ernesto, they've had to wait about a week longer," Spaulding said, referring to the storm that prevented an Aug. 27 launch attempt. "So I'm pleased to announce that wait's nearly over and that we'll be ready on Wednesday for Atlantis' launch." Because of conflict with the launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying the space station's next full-time crew, Atlantis must be off the ground by Friday at the latest or the flight will be delayed until late October, barring a decision by NASA to relax a daylight launch requirement. The forecast for Thursday and Friday is 70 percent "go." While NASA doesn't normally make three launch attempts in a row, agency managers could waive that guideline if weather or other problems keep Atlantis on the ground past Thursday. LeRoy Cain, chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team, and Launch Director Mike Leinbach will brief reporters later today on the status of launch preparations.
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Space shuttle Atlantis is delivered to Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B on August 2 to begin final preparations for blastoff on the STS-115 mission to resume construction of the International Space Station.
Just after 1 a.m. local time August 2, the crawler-transporter began the slow move out of the Vehicle Assembly Building carrying space shuttle Atlantis toward the launch pad.
Space shuttle Atlantis is transported to the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building where the ship will be mated to the external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters for a late-August liftoff.
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