Shuttle is Go For Launch, But is the Weather?

By Nancy Atkinson - July 10, 2009 at 9:39 PM UTC | Missions
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[/caption] With the fuel leak apparently fixed, space shuttle Endeavour is '"go" for launch for the STS-127 mission. But the weather could force another delay. Forecasters predict a 60 percent chance thunderstorms on Saturday evening at Kennedy Space Center, and Endeavour's launch is scheduled for 7:39:35 p.m. EDT. "Bottom line from the team, everybody's go for launch, we have no major issues at all," said Mike Moses, director of shuttle launch integration at the Kennedy Space Center. "We're in really good shape for launch. We do have some challenges with the weather, but we'll just work through those."

Two previous launch attempts on June 13 and 17 were scrubbed when a hydrogen vent line attached to the side of the tank began leaking during fueling. NASA engineers replaced a one-piece Teflon seal with a different and more flexible two-piece seal, and in a fueling test on July 1, no leaks were detected.

The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japanese Kibo laboratory, adding a platform to the outside of the module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. Endeavour's crew consists of commander Mark Polansky, pilot Douglas Hurley, Canadian flight engineer Julie Payette, David Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Thomas Marshburn and space station flight engineer Timothy Kopra .

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com