NASA Updates Shuttle Target Launch Date for Hubble Mission

NASA managers officially are targeting Sept. 10, 2008, for the launch of the fifth and final space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. During the 11-day flight, Atlantis' seven astronauts will repair and improve the observatory's capabilities through 2013.

Mission planners have been working since last fall, when the flight was announced, to determine the best time in the shuttle manifest to support the needs of Hubble while minimizing the impact to International Space Station assembly. NASA also will support a "launch on need" flight during the Hubble mission. In the unlikely event a rescue flight becomes necessary, shuttle Endeavour currently is planned to lift off from Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. However, managers constantly are evaluating the manifest to determine the best mission options.

Shuttle missions beyond the Hubble flight still are being assessed. Shuttle and station program officials will continue to consider options for the remainder of the shuttle flights to complete construction of the space station by 2010, when the fleet will be retired. Those target launch dates are subject to change.

The Hubble Space Telescope is an international cooperative project between NASA and the European Space Agency. For more information about Hubble, visit: Hubble

Source: NASA

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STS 117 Mission

At today's Launch Readiness News Conference, the Mission Management Team announced that they were in agreement that Space Shuttle Atlantis is ready to fly on Friday.

"The team is ready to go and we're just really excited to be at this point after a very long and arduous spring and a lot of really hard work by the entire team," said LeRoy Cain, launch integration manager for the Space Shuttle Program. "I'm very proud of the team."

NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach reported that the countdown is going fine and there no significant issues to report.

The forecast for launch day, according to U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Pat Barrett, weather officer from the 45th squadron, remains at a 30-percent chance of violating launch constraints. A high-pressure ridge is expected to move to the north which could help clear out any thunderstorm activity over Kennedy Space Center.

At 10:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, the protective rotating service structure will be rolled away from the space shuttle. External tank fuel loading is scheduled to begin at around 9:30 a.m. EDT Friday.

The launch countdown for Atlantis officially began at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday, at T-43 hours. Included in the countdown is nearly 28 hours of built-in hold time prior to a targeted 7:38 p.m. EDT launch on Friday.

credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Source: NASA

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