Weather Looks Good For Wednesday Launch

They're counting down again at the Kennedy Space Center... ticking away the minutes ahead of Wednesday's scheduled launch of the shuttle Atlantis.

"At the end of the day we did our readiness poll to continue from here toward launch and we got a 'go' from all the elements and we feel like we're in very good shape," said LeRoy Cain, launch integration manager, after reviews by the mission management team,

This will be the fourth try for Atlantis and STS-115... after a lightning strike forced two delays, and Tropical Storm Ernesto scrubbed plans for a third attempt last week.

The launch is set for 12:29 Eastern Time Wednesday afternoon, and forecasts call for only a 20 percent chance of a "no go" decision due to weather at that time.

Between now and then, engineers and technicians are going over the shuttle with a fine-toothed comb... checking all systems and replacing fuel emptied from the orbiter in anticipation of its planned move back to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

As Aero-News reported, before the shuttle was halfway to the Vehicle Assembly Building -- and shelter from the tropical storm -- launch managers decided it would be okay to put Atlantis back on the pad, as Ernesto's winds weren't as bad as had been initially forecasted.

That decision means the orbiter still has a chance to fly this month -- before a scheduled Soyuz mission to the International Space Station.

Commander Brent Jett and his five crewmates (above) will travel to the International Space Station to install a new 17-ton segment of the station's truss backbone, adding a new set of giant solar panels and batteries to the complex. Three spacewalks are planned.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle