Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-115 LIVE THREAD

Spaceflightnow.com ^ | 25 Aug 06 | Justin Ray

[RightWhale]

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2006 1430 GMT (10:30 a.m. EDT)

The shuttle Atlantis' countdown continues to tick smoothly toward launch on a space station assembly mission. Liftoff is targeted for 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The latest forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of favorable weather, improving to 80 percent "go" Monday and Teusday. The concern Sunday is for possible afternoon thunderstorms within the launch area.

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[RightWhale]

This launch is scheduled for Sunday. It is to restart construction of the International Space Station where it was left off six years ago. This is an excerpt, but the article will be updated as the countdown proceeds.

[RightWhale]

Shuttle launch this weekend

[RobFromGa]

What's so exciting about a 4.5 million pound mass being launched from the surface of the Earth in a controlled manner, carrying 7 humans, and reaching Earth orbit to dock with a human-designed and built space station, and then return safely to Earth in a vehicle which can be reused? Ho-hum!

/s

[Conan the Librarian]

I hope they start doing night launches soon. They are really cool from here.

[RightWhale]

They intend to add some solar array that will double available station power.

It is exciting to watch $1 billion in taxes turn into a pillar of smoke in minutes. Actually DC does this every couple hours but it is usually not so deafening.

[COEXERJ145]

I hope they start doing night launches soon.

Night launches are out for good because it would be impossible to watch the shuttle with all of the cameras that are setup to check for debris strikes.

[Sloth]

I hope they don't have to divert to an alternate destination when one of the passengers starts talking about Pakistan and pees all over the place in zero-G.

[RightWhale]

Yeah, that's right. They have a lot of cameras all over the launch site and on the vehicle, a lot more than they ever used to.

[KevinDavis]

An early live thread...

[Names Ash Housewares]

"It is exciting to watch $1 billion in taxes turn into a pillar of smoke in minutes. Actually DC does this every couple hours but it is usually not so deafening."

Reality check, where your tax money goes. Note NASA compared to entitlement spending.

[RobFromGa]

If the Dems get in charge we'd cut out this wasteful solar energy source, and they'd put a windfarm on the space station. There are no birds to get killed in the vanes.

[RightWhale]

There are Canadians on the flight, but they aren't likely to be disruptive. Canadians are fairly mellow.

[KevinDavis]

That can't be true.. NASA takes all of the money.. Getting rid of NASA is going to save money. For a day that is..

[RobFromGa]

Canadians are fairly mellow.

Unless you try to take their puck away. Then they can go nuts.

[RightWhale]

Seems several are going to be away from FR this weekend so I thought it would be well to start a LIVE THREAD as soon as spaceflightnow got rolling.

[Names Ash Housewares]

[KevinDavis]

If get rid of the Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Social Security Administration, and god knows whatelse, we would save a lot more money....

[RightWhale]

Can a slap shot from the ISS be hit well enough to reenter the atmosphere the same orbit?

[KevinDavis]

Smart idea... I'll reping until the launch...

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnow.com earlier:

1400 GMT (10:00 a.m. EDT)

The shuttle Atlantis is poised for blastoff Sunday on a long-awaited flight to restart assembly of the international space station three years after the Columbia disaster derailed construction. Atlantis and its six-person crew will deliver a $372 million set of solar arrays to the outpost, kicking off the most ambitious series of manned space flights since the Apollo moon program.

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ISS construction resumes.