So far, the launch is on schedule and will not affect our trip
STS-115 Crew Arrives, Launch on Track
The Atlantis crew arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida today to begin final preparations for mission STS-115. Flying T-38 trainer jets, the astronauts landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
Later today, Jett and Pilot Chris Ferguson will return to the runway to practice landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.
The countdown officially began at noon EDT today, at the T-43 hour mark. The countdown includes about 36 hours of built-in hold time prior to a targeted 4:30 p.m. EDT launch on Sunday; it is the middle point in the launch window that extends for 10 minutes.
At the 10 a.m. Countdown Status Briefing, NASA Test Director Steve Payne reported that the launch team is working no issues, saying, "Atlantis is in excellent shape and we're on track for the preparations for Sunday's launch to bring the P3 and P4 truss to the orbiting space station and return her crew safely home."
Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters provided a generally positive outlook for launch day conditions. "Overall the weather is looking pretty good for launch day. We do have a 30 percent chance of weather prohibiting tanking in the morning," she said. "We have a 30 percent chance of weather prohibiting launch." She added, "Generally, pretty good weather when it comes to an afternoon summertime day here in Florida."
