Countdown Will Begin On Tuesday
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 05.31.07 1545 EDT: It
was a good omen, said NASA's Associate Administrator for Space
Operations, Bill Gerstenmaier, that there was no hailstorm prior to
Wednesday's flight readiness review meeting on the launch of the
shuttle Atlantis -- unlike the last time engineers met to determine
whether the orbiter was fit to fly into orbit, in February.
"We're on for a June 8 launch, at 7:38 pm," shuttle program
manager Wayne Hale told reporters in a webcast news conference
Thursday afternoon ago. The launch countdown will commence Tuesday
night.
That result of the two-day meeting was not unexpected, as there
were no significant hurdles or objections foreseen. As Aero-News reported, there
were some concerns about the sturdiness of bolts holding
low-pressure fuel pressurization units within the orbiter's three
main engines... but Hale reports all inspections of those suspect
bolts show no evidence of any problems.
"We quite confident this flight is good," Hale said.
NASA has four launch windows for Atlantis between June 8 and 13.
After that, the agency must stand down for the scheduled launch of
an Atlas rocket on June 15, before attempting a launch later in the
month.
When asked if NASA forecast any possible weather-related
complications this time around, shuttle program manager Mike
Leinbach replied "as a Florida resident, I almost hope so -- we
need the rain." There are no sigificant storms on the horizon.
"While we cannot control the weather, this team can ensure that
when we do launch, it will be as safely as possible," added
Gerstenmeier, who chaired the meetings. "This second Flight
Readiness Review was as thorough as the first. The discussions were
open, healthy, and are evidence of a team that is ready for a
complicated and important station assembly mission."
During the 11-day mission and three spacewalks, the crew will
work with flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center,
Houston, to install a 17-ton segment on the station's girder-like
truss and deploy a set of solar arrays. The mission will increase
the International Space Station's power capability in preparation
for the arrival of new science modules from the European and
Japanese space agencies.
Joining Commander Rick Sturckow on
STS-117 will be Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission Specialists
Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John "Danny" Olivas, Jim Reilly
and Clayton Anderson. Anderson will replace current station crew
member Sunita Williams, who has lived on the station since
December. Williams will return to Earth on Atlantis.