posted 08-31-2006 08:29 PM               

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Following a detailed inspection of NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., the six-member crew has a new launch date to begin the STS-115 mission to the International Space Station. The lift-off from Kennedy is set for 12:29 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 6.

Shuttle managers decided on the launch date after assessing conditions at Kennedy following Tropical Depression Ernesto. The center's facilities and Atlantis, which sits on Launch Pad 39-B, sustained no damage during the storm.

If weather or other issues prevent Atlantis' launch on Sept. 6, opportunities are available on Sept. 7 and 8. All dates allow for completion of the mission's objectives and allow for shuttle undocking from the station by Sept. 17. This is necessary so the Russian Soyuz taking the next space station crew up to the orbiting laboratory can launch Sept. 18.

Many of the standard launch preparations were completed before the shuttle's partial move to the center's landmark Vehicle Assembly Building and return to the launch pad on Tuesday. During the next several days, teams will focus on completing pre-launch tasks, so an official countdown can begin Sunday at 8 a.m. EDT.

The STS-115 crew, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson, and mission specialists Joe Tanner, Dan Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean, is in Houston conducting launch simulations. The astronauts will return to Kennedy on Saturday morning. They already have begun adjusting their sleep cycles to match their timeline in orbit that changed due to the new launch time.

During STS-115, Atlantis' astronauts will deliver and install the 17.5-ton, bus-sized P3/P4 integrated truss segment on the station. The girder-like truss includes a set of giant solar arrays, batteries and associated electronics. The P3/P4 truss segment will provide one-fourth of the total power-generation capability for the completed station.

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posted 09-01-2006 02:47 PM               

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NASA will start the launch countdown for Space Shuttle Atlantis' STS-115 mission at 8 a.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 3, at the T-43 hour point.

During this mission, Atlantis' crew will resume construction of the International Space Station, which is the goal of the remaining space shuttle flights until the spacecraft are retired in 2010.

The first countdown for Atlantis' launch was stopped because of Tropical Storm Ernesto.

The countdown includes 33 hours, 24 minutes of built-in hold time leading to a preferred launch time at approximately 12:29 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 6. The launch window for Wednesday extends an additional five minutes.

This mission is the 116th space shuttle flight, the 27th flight for Atlantis and the 19th U.S. flight to the International Space Station. STS-115 is scheduled to last 11 days with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., about 8:03 a.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 17.

Atlantis' last mission was STS-112 in October 2002. In preparation for STS-115, Atlantis was moved into Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building on July 24. Atlantis then was attached to its modified external tank and solid rocket boosters. Space Shuttle Atlantis was rolled out to Launch Pad 39B on Aug. 2. The initial launch date of Aug. 27 was scrubbed to evaluate the shuttle and its systems after a lightning strike at the launch pad. A partial rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building took place Aug. 29 due to concerns about Tropical Depression Ernesto.

The STS-115 crew is Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson, and mission specialists Joe Tanner, Dan Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean.

During STS-115, Atlantis' astronauts will deliver and install the 17.5-ton, bus-sized P3/P4 integrated truss segment on the station. The girder-like truss includes a set of giant solar arrays, batteries and associated electronics. The P3/P4 truss segment will provide one-fourth of the total power-generation capability for the completed station.

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posted 09-05-2006 07:09 PM               

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Originally posted by mikepf:
After all the delays, I wouldn't mind if the launch was an hour late. I have a meeting to attend one minute after the scheduled launch time! I'd settle for 45 minutes...PLEASE!!

Mikie

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If I read Robert's posting correctly, the Shuttle only has a five minute window to get off the ground tomorrow. So I think 45 minutes late means no launch at all.

posted 09-05-2006 09:23 PM               

What about MSNBC.com? Lucky for me my boss allows NASA.gov on the magic box.