CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Discovery is poised to blast off early
Tuesday in what promises to be a stunning nighttime launch into the dark Florida
sky.
Discovery
and a crew of seven astronauts are due to lift off from a seaside pad here at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 GMT) and begin a 13-day construction
flight to the International Space Station.
"We have
been studying and training hard for about a year now and we are ready to accomplish
this mission," said Discovery commander Rick Sturckow.
Discovery
has an 80 percent chance of good weather at launch time early Tuesday, but only
if Mother Nature cooperates later this afternoon when NASA fuels the shuttle's
external tank. The moon should set late Monday night, giving Discovery a completely
dark sky to launch into, mission managers said.
Shuttle
workers plan to begin loading Discovery's 15-story external tank with the more
than 526,000 of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant at
about 4:11 p.m. EDT (1911 GMT). There is a chance that lightning within 5 miles
(8 km) of the shuttle's Pad 39A launch site could stall the fueling operation,
and even the launch if the delay runs too long.
"Overall,
the weather is looking good for launch, we've just got to get there," said NASA
shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters. "So the tanking weather is what we'll be
watching very closely."
NASA launch
director Pete Nickolenko said his team could delay fueling Discovery's tank by
about three hours and still make the Tuesday morning launch window. Lightning
has been a thorn in NASA's side in recent months. A lightning
strike in July forced NASA to delay the liftoff of shuttle Endeavour in
order make sure the spacecraft was in good health.
Ready to
fly
Sturckow
leads a six-man,
one-woman crew that includes shuttle pilot Kevin Ford and mission
specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Daniel Olivas, Nicole Stott and
Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang, who represents the European Space Agency.
Ford, Hernandez and Stott are making their first spaceflight.
They plan
to deliver a cargo pod packed with packed with about 15,200 pounds (6,894 kg)
of new science equipment, fresh supplies and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen
Colbert.
Colbert tried
to have NASA name a new room for the space station after him by urging fans to
write his name in during an online poll by the space agency earlier this year.
NASA, ultimately chose the name "Tranquility" - after the Apollo 11 moon
landing site - for the room, but offered Colbert the treadmill as a consolation
prize.
"We're just
excited to haul it up there," Sturckow said. "This has been a long time in the
construction phase and for awhile it was questionable if it would even make our
mission."
NASA invited Colbert to watch the Discovery's launch, but he was unable attend. Instead, NASA will broadcast a statement from Colbert later tonight on NASA TV after fueling Discovery.
Discovery
is also carrying new science experiment racks to boost fluids and materials
research aboard inside the station. A new ammonia coolant tank, which weighs as
much as a small car, will be installed at the station during the mission's
three spacewalks.
Unlike her
crewmates, Stott is not planning on returning to Earth with Discovery after its
mission is completed. She will stay behind and replace NASA astronaut Tim Kopra,
who has lived aboard the station since mid-July and will come home on
Discovery.
"I'm really
looking forward to that first view," Stott said in a recent briefing. "I expect
that it won't get any less impressive every time you do it."
Discovery's
flight will mark NASA's fourth shuttle launch this year and the second to blast
off at night in 2009.
"In this
business there are few sights as beautiful as a nighttime launch," said NASA
test director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson in a recent briefing. "And I expect
this to be a spectacular sight as Discovery roars to life early Tuesday morning
and lights up the night sky."
SPACE.com
is providing complete coverage of Discovery's STS-128 mission to the
International Space Station with Managing Editor Tariq Malik in Cape Canaveral,
Fla., and Staff Writer Clara Moskowitz in New York. Click here for shuttle mission
updates and a link to NASA TV. Live coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
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