All Systems Go For Saturday Shuttle Launch
POSTED: Friday, May 30, 2008
UPDATED: 3:44 pm EDT May 30,
2008
 |
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- With good weather in the offing and no bumps in the countdown, NASA pushed ahead with Saturday's planned launch of space shuttle Discovery on a delivery trip to the international space station. The mission has taken on new urgency -- the seven shuttle astronauts will take up a new pump for the space station's malfunctioning toilet. They're also ferrying a $1 billion Japanese space lab that has been more than 20 years in the making. Dozens of Japanese journalists and space program officials jammed NASA's launch site Friday, their excitement growing with every passing hour of the countdown. As many as 400 Japanese were expected for the late Saturday afternoon launch. Their enthusiasm was catchy. "We are on the verge of a very historic event, the launch of this amazing spacecraft, the first major manned element for the Japanese Space Agency," said NASA payload manager Scott Higginbotham. The Japanese lab -- named Kibo, which means hope -- will be the biggest room at the space station once it's installed. It's 37 feet long and more than 32,000 pounds, and fills Discovery's entire payload bay. The first part of the lab flew up in March, and the third and final section will be launched next year. The Russian toilet pump, on the other hand, is a mere 1½ feet long and tucked into the crew cabin. It was flown to Florida from Moscow on Wednesday, a rush job precipitated by last week's toilet breakdown at the space station. The station's three residents can use their toilet, but have to flush it manually with extra water after every three or four uses. The problem is on the urine-collection side. They will use Discovery's toilet, once the shuttle arrives. Three spacewalks are planned during Discovery's 14-day flight, to install Kibo, replace an empty nitrogen-gas tank and try out various cleaning methods on a clogged solar-wing rotating joint. Forecasters put the odds of good launch weather at 80 percent. Conditions worsen on the following days because of the threat of thunderstorms. Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Copyright 2008 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2008 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Authorities release a chilling 911 call from a 19-year-old woman who hid in the back bedroom of a Central Florida home while four men attempted to break into the house.
An ex-wife of the man who found the remains of Caylee Anthony says that she thought her ex-husband was responsible for or involved in the girl's death.
Five people are dead after a mobile home fire broke out in Central Florida.
Officials question the credibility of a female deputy who called 911 in September to report a masked man had attacked her.
Dashcam video shows a Florida woman offering an officer sex instead of getting a ticket.
A 3-year-old boy was left stranded at a commuter train platform when a door on the train malfunctioned, separating the toddler from his dad. A good Samaritan stayed with the child until the father could return. (Nov. 20)
South Carolina police say an obese man died after not moving from his recliner for the past eight months. Police say the man's body was physically stuck to the chair and firefighters had to cut him out. He died a few hours later at the hospital.
A woman tired of hearing her son say he lost another sock has come up with an idea to prevent it from happening again.
Thirty Victoria's Secret supermodels take over New York's Times Square this week.
Take a quick look at the flicks headed to your multiplex. Check out the trailer, too.
Get your daily dose of the cute and unusual right here.
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
