News From Space!

Discovery got the green light for Saturday’s scheduled launch yesterday. There was a press briefing earlier today. NASA reports:

Agency Overview Briefing
NASA TV televised a press briefing this afternoon with NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and Associate Administrator for Space Operations William Gerstenmaier.

In Administrator Griffin’s opening remarks, he confirmed Space Shuttle Discovery’s readiness to fly. “We’re looking forward to good weather and when we have it, we’re going to be ready to go.”

Gerstenmaier also agreed that things are going very well processing the vehicle for flight. “All the issues are closed and there’s really nothing that’s being worked.”

Administrator Griffin addressed the foam debris issue in answer to a question posed by the media by saying, “I very strongly feel, that we are not risking crew for foam or I wouldn’t feel comfortable launching.”

“We’re looking forward to a pretty exciting mission and getting back to the assembly of the space station,” said Gerstenmaier.

NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 10 a.m. EDT and live launch countdown coverage from NASA’s Launch Blog begins at 10 a.m., July 1.

At Pad 39B, the Rotating Service Structure will be rolled back today at 7PM EDT. Click here for NASA TV live streams.

Keeping an eye on the weather for tomorrow afternoon’s launch. NASA reports:

Afternoon Showers Could Dampen Discovery’s Day
Kathy Winters, shuttle launch weather officer, has forecasted a 60-percent chance of regional thunderstorms grounding the launch for Saturday and Sunday. While rain is expected to be falling in nearby Orlando, anvil clouds from the storms could stretch back toward the Kennedy coast. The danger posed by anvil clouds is that the shuttle could trigger lightning by flying near them.

What’s Up Next
At 7 p.m. tonight, pad 39B’s rotating service structure surrounding the space shuttle will be retracted as a part of final preparations for Saturday’s first launch attempt. On launch morning, technicians will begin pumping liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants into Discovery’s orange external tank at 5:30 a.m. to fuel the ship for flight. Launch week’s events will culminate with the targeted liftoff of Discovery at 3:49 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The final countdown to launch can be followed on the Web with NASA’s Launch Blog and NASA TV.

A replay of this morning’s “STS-121 Astronaut Webcast” is now available online.
+ Watch STS-121 Astronaut Webcast

The Launch Team
Learn more about the NASA team that’s responsible for the events that lead up to the liftoff of mission STS-121.
+ Meet the Launch Team

Stay Tuned…

Launch prep continues at KSC. NASA reports:

One Day to Go
Launch week for the STS-121 mission officially began on Tuesday, June 27, with the arrival of Commander Steven Lindsey and his crew at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Flying into the center in a squadron of T-38 jets, Discovery’s crew arrived ready and excited for liftoff.

On Wednesday, Pilot Mark Kelly returned to the skies at the controls of the Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice landing approaches into Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility. The other members of the crew have also been busy making final prelaunch checks of Discovery, the orbiter’s payloads and their personal equipment.

At press conferences throughout the week, NASA managers have repeatedly expressed their confidence in Discovery’s fitness to fly. Discovery currently awaits launch atop Launch Pad 39B. According to NASA officials, the space shuttle’s final preparations are going as planned and moving swiftly toward launch. The only obvious possible stumbling block is the fickle Florida weather.

Flight facts here. More to come…