Cloud cover over NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has become problematic with its changing conditions causing frequent reassessments as to whether Space Shuttle Discovery can launch at 21:35h 48s local time (01:35h GMT) tonight.
At 21:00h local time NASA announced that the clouds were potentially a problem with a final decision expected at T-9min, 21:26h local time. But there are no technical issues at this time to stop the countdown. The US space agency fears low cloud cover as NASA needs to be able to observe an ascending Shuttle up to 6,000ft altitude and the Orbiter crew need to be able to see the KSC runway if they have to abort the launch at a low level and can return to the space centre. Today would be the best day at this point as Friday is predicted to have a 90% chance of weather prohibiting launch and Saturday is currently at 70% against.
Discovery's mission STS-116 is the 117th Shuttle launch, the 20th US mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the Orbiter's 33rd flight. During the mission's three extra-vehicular activities astronauts will install the P5 port truss segment, retract the P6 port solar array's wing and radiators and move power cables to enable the ISS to draw power from then arrays installed in September by Space Shuttle Atlantis' crew on STS-115.
The STS-116 crew are NASA astronauts William Oefelein, pilot; Mark Polansky, commander; Joan Higginbotham, Robert Curbeam, British born Nicholas Patrick, Sunita Williams and the European Space Agency's Christer Fuglesang, all mission specialists. Curbeam, Fuglesang and Williams will conduct the space walks. Williams will not return with Discovery and instead join the ISS's current Expedition 14 and serve as a flight engineer aboard the station. Thomas Reiter, who arrived at the ISS onboard Discovery on mission STS-121 in July will return to Earth with the crew of STS-116 this month.
The launch of Discovery/STS-116 will potentially be the last from pad 39B as it is to be used for the development of NASA’s proposed Ares I crew launch vehicle. However because of NASA’s ongoing policy of launching a rescue shuttle if an Orbiter discovered it was damaged after its ascent 39B is the candidate pad for such a mission.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
