NASA, Crew Hope Third Time's A Charm

The hydrogen leak has been repaired, so now all eyes are on Saturday's weather. Launch countdown operations remain on schedule at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven astronauts prepare for Saturday's scheduled launch at 1939 EDT.

"Everybody is 'go' for launch; we have no major issues at all," said Mike Moses, chairman of the mission management team, which completed its final review Friday. However, there is one problem the launch team may encounter on launch day: unfavorable weather. According to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters, showers, thunderstorms and anvil clouds could interfere with the final hours of the countdown.

"By the time we get to launch time, we are going with a 60 percent chance of (Kennedy) weather prohibiting launch, so only a 40 percent chance of weather that is good for launch," Winters said.

Rollback of the rotating service structure at Launch Pad 39A is set to begin at 2300, setting the stage for the filling of Endeavour's external fuel tank Saturday at about 1014.

FMI: www.nasa.gov