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Launch weather improves to 80 percent 'go' BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: August 7, 2007 The shuttle Endeavour's countdown is ticking smoothly toward launch Wednesday, with no significant technical problems and with forecasters now predicting an 80 percent chance of good weather. This will Endeavour's first flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster and the second of four space station assembly missions planned this year. "After five long years, Endeavour is poised once again on the launch pad and is ready for tomorrow's launch," said NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding. "I'm pleased to report that all of our systems are in great shape, we're on schedule and this long overdue vehicle is ready to fly." Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said forecasters are no longer worried about electrically active anvil clouds moving into the launch area. The only concern is a slight chance for showers. The forecast improved from 70 percent to 80 percent "go," with a 70 percent go forecast Thursday and 80 percent again on Friday. "So overall, the weather's looking really good for this time of year here in Florida," Winters said. "We have a 20 percent chance of KSC weather prohibiting launch and two good TAL (trans-Atlantic landing) sites on the first two days." Late Monday, engineers working by remote control loaded liquid hydrogen and oxygen to power the shuttle's three electricity producing fuel cells, enough to support four launch tries in five days. Early today, technicians began checking out the ship's three main engines and their control systems and conducting final inspections of Endeavour's external fuel tank. This afternoon, the shuttle's communications system will be activated and checked out while engineers complete preparations for rotating a huge protective gantry away from the orbiter around 9 p.m. to set the stage for fueling early Wednesday. "The countdown continues to go well and we're tracking no significant issues at the pad," Spaulding said. "Last night we got a lot of work done and we're on schedule."
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