Weather Still Iffy for Saturday Shuttle Launch

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By Tariq Malik
published

Stormy Weather May Delay Shuttle Launch
After arriving at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for space shuttle Endeavour's July 11, 2009 launch on the 29th assembly flight to the International Space Station, the STS-127 crew members pose for a final photo before leaving the Shuttle Landing Facility on July 7. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

After weeksof repair work to plug a hydrogen leak on the space shuttle Endeavour, NASA isnow watching the weather for the spacecraft?s planned Saturday launch.

Endeavourhas a 40 percent chance of good weather for its weekendlaunch toward the International Space Station, though NASA is hopeful thatthe potential for nearby thunderstorms and thick clouds will not hinder themuch-delayed construction flight.

?That isalways the remaining issue that we have,? NASA test director Steve Payne saidof the weather in a Thursday briefing. ?If there?s a hole in the clouds, we?ll gofor it. If not, then we?ll go for it the next day. But we would rather get itdone on Saturday.?

Endeavourand a seven-astronautcrew are currently slated to blast off Saturday evening at 7:39 p.m. EDT(2339 GMT) from a seaside launch pad at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center in CapeCanaveral, Fla. The countdown clock began ticking down toward liftoff lateWednesday night.

Payne saidNASA has launched space shuttles with a 40 percent chance of good weather inthe past. The forecast will improve slightly on Sunday, though a recent trendof afternoon thunderstorms is expected to continue.

?On launchday we are expecting thunderstorms to affect the countdown, especially in theafternoon,? shuttle weather officer Todd McNamara said.

Endeavour?smission has been delayed since mid-June due a hydrogengas leak that prevented two consecutive launch attempts. Engineers replaceda misaligned connector plate and a vent line seal to plug the leak.

Commandedby veteran spaceflyer Mark Polansky, Endeavour?s six-man, one-woman crew isslated to fly a marathon 16-day mission to the International Space Station. Theastronauts will ferry a new member of the station?s six-man crew to the outpostand deliver a porch-likeexperiment platform - the last piece of Japan?s massive Kibo lab - as wellas other spare parts. Five spacewalks are planned for the mission.

Also launchingon Endeavour are new solar array batteries, as well as a spare antenna, acooling system pump module and a drive unit for the station?s railcar, saidScott Higginbotham, NASA?s payload manager. They will be attached to storageplatforms outside the station during the mission?s spacewalks, he added.

Aside fromthe vexing weather forecast, Endeavour appears to be in ship shape forSaturday?s launch attempt. Payne said the shuttle has no technical issues atthis time.

?Goodthings come to those who wait,? Higginbotham said. ?It?s time to go fly andcomplete Kibo.?

  • New Video - The Kibo Lab: Japan's Hope in Space - Part 1, Part 2
  • Video - Meet the STS-127 Shuttle Astronauts
  • Image Gallery - Shuttle Endeavour Blasts Off at Night

 

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.