CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA hopes to begin hauling the space shuttle Atlantis off
its launch pad as early as 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) Tuesday to avoid the
effects of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
"It's clear
in our minds that we are rolling back per plan unless something really
extraordinary happens," NASA launch director Michael Leinbach said during a
morning briefing here at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
There are
only two opportunities to stop rollback procedures - one Monday afternoon and another
just before Atlantis is lifted of the launch pad - should Ernesto weaken or
shift course dramatically.
"It's
unfortunate that we're in this situation, but we are and we know how to deal
with it," Leinbach said.
Tropical
Storm Ernesto is in the Caribbean and approaching southeastern Cuba, where it is expected to weaken before again building up to a Category 1 hurricane bound for
the south Florida coast. NASA launch controllers fear the storm could barrage
Atlantis' launch pad with wind blowing in excess of 40 knots and plan to
safeguard the shuttle in KSC's immense Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).
NASA
shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said National Hurricane Center forecasts predict Ernesto could grow into a Category 3 storm by the time it reaches Florida.
Sustained
winds of 40 knots are expected at Atlantis' Pad 39B launch site as early as
3:00 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT) Wednesday, with hurricane force winds expected later
in the day, Winters said.
Leinbach
said pad crews are removing the super-cold propellant that powers Atlantis'
fuel cells from the orbiter's tanks. They will decide whether to disconnect
systems controlling the explosive bolts aboard Atlantis' solid rocket boosters
- the first window for stopping rollback - early this afternoon, he added.
Weather has
consistently dogged the launch of Atlantis' planned STS-115 mission to deliver
new solar arrays and trusses to the ISS and resume construction of the orbital
laboratory. A Friday lightning strike to Pad 39B vehicle checks that delayed
launch attempts on Sunday and Monday, with Ernesto forcing the Tuesday scrub.
NASA has
not set a new launch date for Atlantis' 11-day mission but the shuttle can launch
anytime through Sept. 7, when shuttle officials agreed to stand down so Russian
space officials can launch a Soyuz spacecraft toward the ISS on Sept. 14.
If Ernesto
weakens to the point Atlantis does not have to leave its launch pad, the
shuttle could be primed for launch late this weekend, possibly by Sept. 3, NASA
officials said.
"If we
actually roll back...we can't get to a T-0 before Sept. 7," STS-115 Mission
Management Team (MMT) chairman LeRoy Cain said during the briefing.
It would
take eight days once Atlantis is returned to its launch pad, assuming no
post-storm clean up or repairs at KSC are required, Leinbach added.
Cain spoke
to Atlantis' STS-115 commander and NASA astronaut Brent Jett earlier today.
Jett
reportedly said the his STS-115 astronaut crew would likely head back to
Johnson Space Center for additional training in Houston should it become
necessary to rollback the shuttle and evacuate aircraft from the Shuttle
Landing Facility here at KSC.
Shuttle
managers are still hoping to launch Atlantis during its current window, but are
looking at other opportunities later this year.
"We have
already started already looking at our options beyond September, if you will,"
Cain said. "By no means are we giving up on September, but it's just the way we
do business."
NASA has
set daylight restrictions to launch Atlantis and photograph its external tank
in orbit in order to better gauge how fuel tank safety changes perform during
flight. Under that rule, NASA could launch Atlantis through Sept. 13, but that
would conflict with Russia's Soyuz launch, ISS crew change and landing
schedules.
While
Russian space officials could opt to delay the Soyuz flight, which will carry a
new crew to the ISS, to Sept. 18 to allow NASA more time to launch Atlantis, they
are reluctant to do so because it would push the landing of another Soyuz -
carrying Expedition 13 astronauts Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams
currently aboard the ISS - into the dark predawn hours in the steppes of
Central Asia's Kazakhstan.
The next
lighted window to launch Atlantis runs from Oct. 20 through Nov. 15, though
specific requirements can shave that opening down to just a few days or so,
Cain said.
The most
optimum time is a two-day period between Oct. 26-27, NASA has said.
"We are looking
at both ends of that window," Cain said of October's prime launch window,
adding that there numerous other non-storm related scenarios that could prevent
a September space shot. "Those are the kinds of things that we're looking at
just to be a step ahead of the game."
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