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Shuttle Atlantis Set for Thursday Countdown
space.com ^ | 08/21/06 | Todd Halvorson

Posted on 08/23/2006 6:42:04 PM PDT by KevinDavis

CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA is poised to pick up the countdown to launch of shuttle Atlantis this week after swapping out two suspect bolts securing a key communications antenna inside the ship's cargo bay.

The work, which was finished Sunday at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B, put NASA in position to start a three-day countdown Thursday. Liftoff of Atlantis and six astronauts remains scheduled for about 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

"Everything is looking good," said KSC spokeswoman Tracy Young.

Working atop a platform and scaffolding near the top of the shuttle's six-story payload bay, technicians replaced two of the four bolts holding the antenna in place with longer bolts.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: atlantis; shuttleatlantis; space; spaceshuttle
If it does happen on Thursday, I'm going to need to have someone host a live thread.. I'm going to be out of town the at the end of the week..
1 posted on 08/23/2006 6:42:05 PM PDT by KevinDavis
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To: RightWhale; Brett66; xrp; gdc314; anymouse; NonZeroSum; jimkress; discostu; The_Victor; ...

2 posted on 08/23/2006 6:43:09 PM PDT by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: KevinDavis

I still love watching these lift offs. I haven't been to KSC for one but I can normally see them from where I live in St Pete. Night lift offs are really cool!


3 posted on 08/23/2006 6:47:53 PM PDT by Hazcat
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To: Hazcat; All

That is my one true goal.. Since I can't be an astronaut, I might as well see a launch live...


4 posted on 08/23/2006 6:53:46 PM PDT by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: KevinDavis

I'm 150 miles from the Cape and the first time a saw one I was amazed. It seemed as thought it didn't really go that high. It is pretty darn fast. Night launches are very easy to watch.


5 posted on 08/23/2006 6:58:08 PM PDT by Hazcat
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To: Hazcat; All

Sweet.....


6 posted on 08/23/2006 6:58:44 PM PDT by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: KevinDavis

I saw one while doing push-ups at USN bootcamp in Orlando.


7 posted on 08/23/2006 7:16:12 PM PDT by GoDuke
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To: Hazcat

When I was in the Navy, we were coming up from Gitmo to Mayport and were several hundred miles off the coast when they had a night launch. Lit up the whole sky.


8 posted on 08/23/2006 7:39:01 PM PDT by neodad (USS Vincennes (CG-49) Freedom's Fortress)
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To: KevinDavis

Kevin

the Launch window does not open until Sunday afternoon at 4:30 EDT


9 posted on 08/23/2006 9:03:54 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: Hazcat
I grew up in Daytona and watched Apollo 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17; Skylab 2, 3 and 4; Apollo-Soyuz and the first Shuttle launch. Man it's a sight to see!
10 posted on 08/23/2006 10:16:53 PM PDT by Lancer_N3502A
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To: Hazcat; KevinDavis

"...Night launches are very easy to watch...."

They are also a thing of the past, as far as the Shuttle is concerned. NASA want to see as much as they can during the trip uphill. That can't be done at night. However, the shots from the ET and SRB's would be really neat if it was a night launch. I hate to see night launches done away with. As the both of you said, they are great viewing.


11 posted on 08/24/2006 7:37:15 AM PDT by NCC-1701 (RADICAL ISLAM IS A CULT. IT MUST BE ELIMINATED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH.)
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To: KevinDavis

Countdown starts later today. Launch is Sunday.


12 posted on 08/24/2006 7:47:10 AM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the law of the excluded middle)
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To: RightWhale

The countdown is underway

spaceflightnow.com

While the afternoon weather is expected to be favorable this weekend, forecasters predict afternoon thunderstorms Friday and Saturday. As a result, the launch team moved up the start of Atlantis' countdown from 6 p.m. to noon today to give engineers a better chance for loading on-board oxygen and hydrogen for the shuttle's electricity producing fuel cells.

A hold at the T-minus 19 hour mark that normally lasts just four hours will be lengthened to 10 hours to make up for the early start of the countdown. When the count resumes at 2 a.m. Saturday, all subsequent activities will be synched up with the original schedule.

The goal of the 116th shuttle mission is to deliver and install a $372 million set of solar arrays and a complex rotary joint on the international space station, a complex job requiring back-to-back spacewalks, dual robot arm operations and tight coordination with flight controllers in Houston. It is the first in a series of assembly flights that rank as the most complex ever attempted by NASA


13 posted on 08/24/2006 3:32:15 PM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the law of the excluded middle)
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To: KevinDavis; admin

This could become the LIVE THREAD


14 posted on 08/24/2006 3:36:16 PM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the law of the excluded middle)
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