Low cloud cover ends Space Shuttle Discovery's launch hopes after a countdown replete with alternating rulings on the acceptability of the weather over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
The cloud cover over NASA's KSC had improved and the agency was expecting to launch Discovery at 21:35h 48s local time (02:35h GMT). At T-5min a decision was taken to hold but then due to continued concerns over cloud cover the launch window was closed. The US space agency had feared low cloud cover as NASA needs to be able to observe an ascending Shuttle up to 6,000ft (1,800m) 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 have been the best day 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 mission, 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
