Spaceflight Now




Discovery launch delayed to Saturday
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: December 7, 2006

After a nail-biting, down-to-the-wire countdown, launch director Mike Leinbach called off an attempt to launch the shuttle Discovery tonight on a critical space station mission because of low, thickening clouds over the Kennedy Space Center.

"We gave it our best shot and did not get clear and convincing evidence in the end that the cloud-ceiling rule would clear enough or us," Leinbach radioed the astronauts at 9:36 p.m. "So we're going to have declare a scrub at this time. Appreciate your support and we'll come up with a scrub-turnaround plan for you."

"We understand," commander Mark Polansky replied from Discovery's flight deck. "Thank the team for all their hard work, try not to be too disappointed. We will be ready to support the next time we get a chance."

Spaceflight Now Plus
Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: SCRUB CALLED DUE TO LOW CLOUDS PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DEPART QUARTERS FOR PAD PLAY
VIDEO: CREW FINISHES DONNING SPACESUITS PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS IN DINING ROOM THURSDAY PLAY
VIDEO: PAD'S ROTATING SERVICE STRUCTURE ROLLED BACK PLAY
MORE: STS-116 VIDEO COVERAGE
SUBSCRIBE NOW



With a 90 percent "no-go" forecast for Friday, NASA managers decided to recycle Discovery for a second launch attempt Saturday night at 8:47:34 p.m. The forecast Saturday is 70 percent "no-go," improving slightly Sunday and Monday. But the forecast does not turn positive until Tuesday, when meteorologists expect a 60 percent chance of acceptable weather.

Launch tonight was targeted for 9:35:48 p.m., but low clouds caused concern throughout the final hours of the countdown, primarily because of their potential impact on a return-to-launch-site abort. Launch managers also were concerned about the weather at emergency runways in Spain and France.

As it turned out, the rain in Spain appeared within limits and conditions in Florida were deemed acceptable for an RTLS, should an emergency be declared shortly after launch. But during a hold at the T-minus nine-minute mark, weather officers decided a low deck of clouds over the space center was too thick, violating launch commit criteria.

Leinbach decided to take the countdown to the T-minus five-minute mark and hold there, hoping conditions would improve during the final five minutes of the 10-minute launch window. But it was not to be and he reluctantly cut off the countdown.

The shuttle's overall launch periord extends through Dec. 26. But NASA managers want to launch Discovery before Dec. 17 if at all possible to avoid having the shuttle in orbit on New Year's day. The shuttle's navigation software was not designed to fly over a year-end rollover and some clocks would consider Jan. 1 to be day 366 instead of the first day of the new year.

The astronauts can reset those systems, but it's a complex procedure in an already complicated flight. In addition, flight controllers don't want the shuttle to make the "YERO" transition unless it's docked to the space station at the time. That requirement would prevent a launch between Dec. 18 and 22.

Spaceflight Now Plus
Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: POST-ARRIVAL COMMENTS FROM THE CREW PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE IN WAVE OF T-38 JETS PLAY
VIDEO: BIOGRAPHIES OF THE DISCOVERY ASTRONAUTS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED STS-116 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY

VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S SHUTTLE BRIEFING IN ITS ENTIRETY PLAY

BRIEFING SOUNDBITES:
VIDEO: THE ISSUES DISCUSSED AT FRR PLAY
VIDEO: NOT YOUR FATHER'S FRR PLAY
VIDEO: READY TO RESUME NIGHT LAUNCHES PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH PREPS PROCEEDING WELL PLAY
VIDEO: YEAR-END ROLLOVER CONCERNS PLAY
VIDEO: REASSESSING TANK FOAM RISK PLAY
VIDEO: STATION SOLAR ARRAY DRIVE SYSTEM PROBLEM PLAY
VIDEO: PRESSURIZATION PRECAUTIONS AT THE PAD PLAY

VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF STS-116 MISSION PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE/ISS PROGRAM PERSPECTIVE PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW OF MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: COVERAGE OF PRACTICE COUNTDOWN ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY ROLLS TO THE PAD PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY MATED TO TANK AND BOOSTERS PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE HOISTED VERTICALLY INSIDE VAB PLAY
VIDEO: DISCOVERY HAULED FROM HANGAR TO VAB PLAY
VIDEO: PORT 5 TRUSS PAYLOAD PACKED UP PLAY
VIDEO: CREW VISITS KENNEDY SPACE CENTER PLAY
VIDEO: EXTERNAL FUEL TANK MATED TO BOOSTERS PLAY
MORE: STS-116 VIDEO COVERAGE
SUBSCRIBE NOW



MISSION INDEX