Weather Looks Good for Thursday Space Shuttle Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The weather looks good for NASA?s planned Thursday launch of the shuttle Atlantis and a European-built laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS), mission managers said Monday.

Atlantis is in prime shape for its planned afternoon launch toward the ISS, where its seven-astronaut crew will install the European Space Agency?s (ESA) Columbus laboratory, though engineers are repairing slight damage to the shuttle?s foam-covered external fuel tank.

?It?s very minor,? said NASA test director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson in a mission update here at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

Engineers spotted three dings in the curved upper section of Atlantis? 15-story fuel tank on Friday during an inspection at the orbiter?s Pad 39A launch site. Repair work is underway, with new foam to be applied on Tuesday, Blackwell-Thompson said.

NASA has kept a close eye on the integrity of the foam insulation covering its shuttle fuel tanks since the 2003 Columbia accident, when a large piece of insulation broke free to critically damage the orbiter?s heat shield. The slight damage to Atlantis? fuel tank, by comparison, are small, relatively easily repaired and should not impact plans for Thursday?s launch, Blackwell-Thompson said.

Meanwhile, the weather seems to be smiling on Atlantis. The shuttle and its STS-122 astronaut crew have an 80 percent chance of launching spaceward at 4:31 p.m. EST (2131 GMT) on Thursday, with the possibility of a low cloud ceiling posing the only concern.

?The weather is actually looking pretty good for launch day,? said NASA shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters. ?We?re actually pretty optimistic about it.?

NASA has a slim launch window that closes on Dec. 13 in which to launch Atlantis to the ISS before the angles between the station?s solar arrays and the sun become unfavorable to support docked operations. Weather forecasts dip slight after Thursday due to the potential for rain showers, giving Atlantis a 60 percent chance of favorable launch weather, Winters said.

Commanded by veteran shuttle flyer Stephen Frick, Atlantis? STS-122 astronauts plan to perform three spacewalks to wire up Columbus and outfit the ISS, and will swap out one member of the station?s Expedition 16 crew during their planned 11-day mission.

Frick and his crewmates are due to arrive here at KSC today at about 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT) as NASA prepares to begin the countdown for Atlantis? launch at 7:00 p.m. EST (2300 GMT).

Atlantis? STS-122 mission will mark NASA?s fourth shuttle flight of the year and the second in three months to deliver a new room to the ISS.

?The team is excited and we?re ready to go fly this vehicle on Thursday,? said Blackwell-Thompson.

NASA will broadcast Atlantis' STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. Click here for SPACE.com's STS-122 mission coverage and live NASA TV feed.

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