Final Push to Launch Countdown Under Way

NASA is stepping through final launch countdown preparations at Kennedy Space Center this week as the agency positions itself for the planned launch next week of shuttle Atlantis on an International Space Station assembly mission.

Technicians with United Space Alliance are finishing up work in the shuttle's rear engine compartment at launch pad 39A, where Atlantis is being readied for a 7:38 p.m. June 8 liftoff.

Also at the pad this week: Technicians will install and test small explosive devices that will be used to separate the shuttle from its mobile launcher platform and jettison its twin solid rocket boosters and external tank in flight.

Senior NASA and contractor managers will gather at KSC on Wednesday for a traditional Flight Readiness Review -- a meeting during which engineers and managers will discuss all technical issues that must be resolved before clearing Atlantis and its seven-man astronaut crew for flight.

Chief among them: Reviewing the repair work done to the shuttle's 15-story external tank after thermal insulation covering its aluminum-lithium shell was damaged during a Feb. 26 hail storm.

Some 2,500 dents and gouges were repaired in the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building before the shuttle rolled back out to the launch pad earlier this month. Managers will review the work done as well as engineering analyses that were carried out to determine whether critical damage would be done to the orbiter's thermal protection system if foam insulation used to repair the tank fell off in flight.

The standard pre-launch work at pad 39A is proceeding on schedule and it appears NASA will be in position to make a launch attempt on June 8. A firm launch date will be set at the conclusion of the two-day Flight Readiness Review.

As it stands, the crew for the station construction mission is scheduled to arrive at KSC around 6:30 p.m. next Monday, and a three-day launch countdown is slated to start at 9 p.m. next Tuesday.

Led by veteran astronaut Rick Sturckow, the crew includes pilot Lee Archambault and mission specialists James Reilly, Steven Swanson, Patrick Forrester, John Olivas and Clayton Anderson. The astronauts are to deliver a station central truss segment that's equipped with power-producing solar wings that will stretch 240 feet from tip to tip once unfurled in orbit.

Anderson will remain onboard the station, replacing NASA astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams, who will return to Earth on Atlantis after a seven-month stay on the outpost. Landing is tentatively scheduled for 2:44 p.m. June 19.

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