Tue, Aug 29, 2006
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 08.29.06 1600 EDT: This just in from
NASA -- after already beginning to roll the space shuttle Atlantis
back to the vehicle assembly building (VAB) in order to wait out
what was originally forecast to be a strong hurricane... NASA has
decided to let the orbiter stand firm against the storm
on Launch Pad 39B after all.
NASA Mission Managers voted to return Atlantis to the pad after
an updated weather forecast showed Tropical Storm Ernesto is
predicted to skirt further west than first expected, allowing a
sufficient decrease in winds to permit the shuttle to ride out the
storm at the pad. Launch Director Mike Leinbach and the team made
the determination at 2:40 pm EDT.
Atlantis had already begun its trek to the Vehicle Assembly
Building, atop the crawler-transporter, at 10:04 am this
morning.
It is unclear if NASA will require the full eight-day turnaround
to make the shuttle mission-ready once Atlantis returns to the pad
at approximately 8:00 pm tonight. NASA has not scheduled a new
launch date for Atlantis.
In any case, it appears the decision will allow Atlantis to
launch prior to September 7, the goal NASA had set for the launch
so as not to conflict with a Russian Soyuz mission scheduled to be
launched to the International Space Station later in September. The
actual launch window for Atlantis runs through September 13.
NASA's original decision to move Atlantis back to the VAB marked
the fourth time the agency decided to rollback the shuttle to wait
out a storm.
It's worth noting that NASA's change of plans does not allow any
room for error, should Ernesto unexpectedly strengthen, or change
course -- as there will now be no time to move the shuttle back to
the VAB before the storm hits Florida.
No doubt these guys know what they're doing... but we imagine
there will still be some nervous skywatching going on at the Cape,
weather forecast or no...
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