gloomy weather could delay friday shuttle launch
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Gloomy weather could delay Friday shuttle launch

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Gloomy weather could delay Friday shuttle launch

Cape Canaveral - AFP

Stormy weather could postpone the last-ever flight of the US shuttle program by delaying Atlantis's final mission to the International Space Station a day or two, according to NASA. A tropical storm system moving north from the Caribbean is expected to bring rain, clouds and thunder to Florida right around the time of Atlantis's scheduled liftoff Friday at 11:26 am (1526 GMT). "It is not looking favorable right now for launch," NASA weather officer Kathy Winters said on Wednesday, downgrading her forecast to just a 30 percent chance of good conditions for liftoff, compared to 40 percent a day earlier. Other than the weather, there are no technical issues that would prevent Atlantis from embarking on its 12-day journey to the International Space Station, marking the final flight of the 30-year US space shuttle program. "The countdown so far is going extremely well," said shuttle manager Mike Leinbach. Other launch opportunities open on Saturday and Sunday when the weather forecasts are clearer but still far from perfect in the southern United States where summer storms are frequent. "Each day gets a little bit better," said Winters, noting that by Sunday the weather forecast improves to a 60-percent likelihood of favorable conditions for launch. Nevertheless, the mission management team met early Wednesday and decided unanimously to go ahead with preparations for launch, NASA said. "There are no problems yet, there are just weather forecasts," said shuttle launch integration manager Mike Moses. If the shuttle does not take off on Friday, NASA will likely rule out the option of adding an extra day to the mission, which is mainly aimed at toting supplies to re-stock the International Space Station. Four US astronauts will be on board, a skeleton crew compared to the six or seven who normally ride a shuttle to space. The mission team is not disheartened by the forecasts of damp weather, and is proceeding as if the launch will go ahead as planned, said Leinbach. "Friday is game day for us. We don't want to wait until Saturday. We want to play the game Friday," he told reporters. NASA engineers will meet again to examine the latest weather forecasts on Thursday before the rotating service structure is pushed away from the shuttle, in the final major movement on the launch pad before the spacecraft launches. If weather looks bad, they may decide to postpone the rollback. Otherwise, the next major decision-making moment comes before the external fuel tank is filled early Friday morning, around 1:30 am (0530 GMT). "Before we go load the propellants into the tank we'll take a look at the weather and make sure it's really a good day to try that, and so at that point we'll be making a decision," said Moses. The weather forecast for tanking time time is just 20-percent favorable, Winters said. When Atlantis returns from its final journey, the shuttle will become a tourist piece at Kennedy Space Center, while its sister shuttles -- Enterprise, Discovery and Endeavour -- go to other museums across the country. The end of the US shuttle program means the world's astronauts will have to rely on Russia's three-seat space capsules for transit to and from the International Space Station at a cost of $51 million per seat. Private companies are currently competing to build a next-generation US spacecraft that can transport people to the orbiting research lab, but that vehicle is not likely to be ready before 2015 at the earliest. In Washington, President Barack Obama said he was "proud" of the shuttle's legacy but that NASA needs to make new leaps forward so it can explore Mars and an asteroid in the future. "Let's ultimately get to Mars. A good pit stop is an asteroid," said Obama, who shortly after taking office axed NASA's Constellation program that would have returned astronauts to the moon. "Let's start stretching the boundaries so we're not doing the same things over and over again. But rather, let's start thinking about, what's the next horizon? What's the next frontier out there?"

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

gloomy weather could delay friday shuttle launch gloomy weather could delay friday shuttle launch

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

gloomy weather could delay friday shuttle launch gloomy weather could delay friday shuttle launch

 



GMT 21:16 2016 Monday ,27 June

Zaki Badr discusses cleaning problem in Giza

GMT 21:46 2017 Saturday ,14 January

Turkey arrests 60 businessmen for alleged Gulen ties

GMT 22:38 2017 Friday ,24 March

Abbas meets with Merkel in Berlin

GMT 09:02 2017 Monday ,27 March

Tunisian Premier Concludes Visit to Sudan

GMT 15:54 2017 Friday ,01 September

Attorney General Directs Prosecutors to inspect Prison

GMT 09:22 2017 Sunday ,31 December

HM King condoles with Afghanistan President

GMT 10:12 2016 Wednesday ,06 April

Strong dollar, mild weather shrink H&M profits

GMT 17:03 2016 Saturday ,24 December

7 police killed in attacks in Afghansitan

GMT 13:51 2017 Friday ,17 March

Israel denies Syria shot down a warplane

GMT 04:08 2017 Thursday ,05 January

Carbon tax can fund clean energy transition

GMT 19:27 2016 Wednesday ,14 September

Alstom to go ahead with plans to shut down Belfort plant
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday