Casting
giant shadows just after sunrise, Space Shuttle Atlantis, mounted on a mobile
launch platform, rolls a second time to Launch Pad 39A atop a crawler
transporter. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 5:02 a.m.
EDT.
In late
February, while Atlantis was on the launch pad, Atlantis' external tank
received hail
damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space
Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail gouged visible divots in the giant tank's
foam insulation, as well as minor surface damage to roughly 26 heat shield tiles
on the shuttle's left wing. The shuttle was returned to the VAB for
repairs.
The launch
of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117 is now targeted for June 8. A
flight readiness review will be held on May 30 and 31.
--NASA and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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