NASA cleared the space shuttle Atlantis to launch toward the
International Space Station Monday on a delivery mission.
Atlantis is set to lift off at 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 GMT) on
Nov. 16 at from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
to carry six
astronauts and two cases of large spare parts to the station.
The weather outlook is optimistic for Monday, with a 90
percent chance of clear skies predicted.
"Overall Monday is looking good so hopefully we'll
go off on Monday," weather officer Kathy Winters said during a
Saturday briefing.
An Atlas V unmanned rocket slated to launch from the nearby
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station early Saturday stood
down at the last minute for crews to investigate a power glitch. The
cancellation frees up the schedule for Atlantis to proceed as planned, and
Atlas managers will aim to try again to launch after Atlantis lifts off.
"They'll be ready to go when they're ready," said
Mike Moses, chair of Atlantis' mission management team. "We fully expect
we'll be out of here come Monday and the range will be clear for them to try
again."
The mission management team met this morning to discuss the
status of the mission, and there was "a unanimous vote to proceed with the
launch countdown," Moses said.
The shuttle's countdown toward liftoff began on Friday at 1
p.m. EST (1800 GMT). So far, everything's gone smoothly.
"We're one day into Atlantis' countdown and I'm happy
to report we're right on the money," said launch director Mike Leinbach.
One issue NASA is monitoring is a broken
urine recycling system on the space station, which helps to process waste
water and turn it back into usable drinking water. A mechanism in the machine failed,
and managers decided to ship the broken instrument back on Atlantis to be
analyzed on the ground.
Meanwhile, the station is left with a limited ability to
recycle water, although the station residents should be able to manage by using
the other facilities onboard. Ultimately, the malfunction shouldn't present a
problem for the incoming shuttle crew.
"There's no impact," Moses said. "Bottom
line, they're in pretty good shape."
Commander Charlie Hobaugh plans to lead the six-member
STS-129 crew on the 11-day space trip. The mission will feature three
spacewalks to attach the cases of spare parts to the station.
SPACE.com is providing complete coverage of Atlantis'
STS-129 mission to the International Space Station with Managing Editor Tariq
Malik and Staff Writer Clara Moskowitz in New York. Click here for shuttle mission
updates and a link to NASA TV.
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