CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. In a last-ditch bid to avoid a half-month flight delay, NASA will make an unprecedented third consecutive attempt Wednesday to launch shuttle Atlantis on a space station maintenance mission.
Grounded by high winds for the second straight day Tuesday, Atlantis and its International Space Station repair crew are scheduled to make a final April launch attempt between 3:26 p.m. and 3:31 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (19:26 and 19:31 GMT) Wednesday.
But if bad weather or technical problems prevent NASA from sending the shuttle aloft, the flight likely will be delayed two weeks or more.
The reason: A flurry of other rocket launches and major tests already are scheduled between now and then on the Air Forces Eastern Range, which provides tracking and range safety services for all flights from Floridas Space Coast.
As it stands now, the earliest shuttle launch opportunity might not come until May 11. "Right now, were looking at mid-May," said Kennedy Space Center (KSC) spokesman Joel Wells. "The Air Force has got a lot of other customers, and until you have a [launch date] reservation, you dont have a reservation."
In what amounted to a déjà vu experience for the shuttle crew, stiff crosswinds at KSCs 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) shuttle runway forced NASA to call off Tuesdays launch attempt.
Strict NASA flight rules prohibit a launch if crosswinds at the swamp-surrounded landing strip top 15 knots. Such conditions would make it dangerous for a shuttle commander to safely touch down on the runway in the event of an emergency landing.
The crew took the news in stride.
"We knew our chances were iffy with the winds today, but it was the right thing to do to try," mission commander James Halsell told launch controllers. "We appreciate everybodys efforts, and well be ready to support tomorrow."
The culprit Tuesday: A low-pressure system that swept through the southeastern U.S., bringing with it winds that gusted between 21 to 33 knots.
The system is expected to move north Wednesday, causing winds at KSC to diminish somewhat. The forecast for Wednesday calls for steady winds of 12 knots, with gusts to 18 knots.
Mission managers, however, will be keeping close tabs on the weather at emergency landing sites in both Spain and Morocco. Forecasters expect a chance of rain in Spain and low-level clouds in Morocco conditions that also could force a launch delay.
The launch attempt Wednesday a third in a row will be unprecedented in the 19-year history of the shuttle program. NASA normally gives launch controllers a day off after two consecutive attempts before making another attempt.
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