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Launch coverage continues at Part 2 of our Mission Journal.
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05 October 2002 - Saturday - We should be hearing the
exact launch time tomorrow afternoon.
Since the terrorist attacks of
11 Sep 2001, NASA has withheld the exact
launch time until
24 hours prior to liftoff. For now, all we know is that
it's between 2PM and 6PM EDT (1800 and 2200 GMT) on Monday the 7th.
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04 October 2002 - Friday - Mission Control is coming
back online after shutting down due to an impending hurricane.
NASA reports:
Mission Control Center Powering up for Monday Launch
The
Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas,
continues power-up procedures in preparation for the launch of STS-112.
Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy Space Center,
Fla., on Monday between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. CDT (1800 and 2200 GMT).
Mission Control had been shut down earlier in the week due to
the potential threat from Hurricane Lili. It is scheduled to be ready to
support countdown activities Sunday.
During the past week, the STS-112 crew reviewed flight plans and
practiced re-entry procedures.
STS-112 will be the 15th shuttle flight to the International
Space Station. STS-112 will continue the outward expansion of the station
with the delivery of the S1 (S-One) Truss. The STS-112 crew will perform
three spacewalks to attach and activate the S1.
Flight control of the International Space Station also
returned to Houston. Control had been transferred to Moscow until the threat from Lili was deemed to be
over.
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03 October 2002 - Thursday - Hurricane Lili's path
spared the Houston area, so now Mission Control can power up and get ready
to support Monday's launch at KSC in Florida. Atlantis was originally
supposed to lift off yesterday, and then weather pushed it back further to
today. Finally, NASA rescheduled for
next week to avoid ground-support problems.
NASA reports:
New Launch Date
STS-112
is scheduled to launch on Monday, October 7. Space Shuttle
Atlantis and its six-member
crew, led Commander
Jeff Ashby
and Pilot Pam
Melroy, will deliver the
S1 Truss to the International
Space Station. Mission
specialists are astronauts
Sandra Magnus,
David Wolf
and Piers
Sellers and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. Visit the crew preflight
photo gallery of
images and
videos.
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02 October 2002 - Evening Update - With the shutdown of Houston's
Mission Control Center, flight control of the International Space
Station has
switched over to Moscow.
NASA reports:
Hurricane Threat to Mission Control Forces Launch Delay
The
potential threat of Hurricane Lili to the Mission Control Center at
Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, forced Space Shuttle Program
managers to push the launch of STS-112 back to Monday. Space Shuttle
Atlantis and its six-member crew are now slated to lift off no earlier
than 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. CDT (1800 to 2200 GMT) Monday.
In preparation for the effects of Lili, the Mission
Control Center ... has been powered down, [forcing] managers to
shift U.S. flight control of the International Space Station from Houston
to the NASA support team in Moscow.
The support group in Russia consists of flight controllers and
others who will continue reduced flight control operations out of Mission
Control Moscow and will remain in contact with Houston.
Forecasters and managers will continue to monitor the storm as
it tracks toward the U.S. Gulf Coast and assess the threat to Johnson
Space Center.
Keep an eye on the play-by-play links at
right and watch
NASA TV to hear the latest on the launch status.
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02 October - Afternoon Update - With the move of Atlantis' launch to Thursday, here is how the timeline is shaping up:
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02 October 2002 - Wednesday -
NASA managers met this morning and decided to push the launch of Shuttle Atlantis back to at least
Monday, 7 Oct 2002.
This is due to the impending
hurricane
coming towards the Gulf Coast, which prompted NASA to shut down computer
systems at the Texas Mission Control
Center. Check the play-by-play links at top right for the latest status.
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01 October 2002 - Evening Update - Launch scrubbed due to
Hurricane Lili. Liftoff is postponed
24 hours, to Thursday (03 Oct).
NASA reports:
Hurricane
Threat to Mission Control Forces Launch Delay
The potential threat of Hurricane Lili to the Mission Control Center
at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, forced Space
Shuttle Program managers to delay the launch of STS-112 by at least 24
hours. Space Shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew are now slated to
lift off no earlier than 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. CDT [2PM to 6PM EDT, 1800 to
2200 GMT] Thursday.
Forecasters and managers will continue to monitor the storm as it tracks toward the
U.S. Gulf Coast and assess the threat to Johnson Space Center.
NASA managers will meet on Wednesday morning, October 2, to assess the track of
Hurricane Lili and determine the best launch date. STS-112 will be the
15th Shuttle mission to visit the International
Space Station and the
26th flight of Space Shuttle
Atlantis.
Here's the updated timeline:
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01 October - Update -
Early Tuesday afternoon, the countdown goes on.
NASA reports:
Launch Countdown
The
STS-112 launch
countdown is under way at Kennedy
Space Center. Space Shuttle
Atlantis and its six-member
crew, led Commander
Jeff Ashby
and Pilot Pam
Melroy, will launch between 2-6 p.m. EDT Wednesday to deliver the
S1 Truss to the International
Space Station. Weather
forecasts call for a 60-percent chance of favorable weather at launch.
Hurricane Lili, which could threaten the Mission Control Center at
Johnson Space Center, currently
poses no immediate threat to Kennedy.
Despite the above report, we feel that NASA will play it safe and scrub
tomorrow's launch because of the threat to Houston.
- 01 October 2002 - Tuesday -
Hurricane Lili continues to
threaten the Gulf Coast, putting
Mission Control in harm's way.
Stay tuned for any announcements regarding delays of
Atlantis' scheduled Wednesday afternoon launch.
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30 September 2002 - Monday - OK, it's official - the
countdown for
STS-112 is
underway!
Security concerns don't permit the exact launch time to be announced until
24 hours prior to liftoff, but we do know it's
between
2 and 6PM EDT this Wednesday.
NASA reports:
Launch Countdown Under Way
STS-112's
launch countdown began over the weekend at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and
preparations remain on schedule for lift off. The STS-112 crew arrived at KSC Sunday morning. Space Shuttle Atlantis is slated to launch Wednesday
between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. CDT [2PM to 6PM EDT, 1800 to 2200 GMT].
Weather forecasts call for a 60-percent chance of favorable
weather at launch, with the main concerns being showers and
thunderstorms in the vicinity. Meanwhile, managers continue to monitor
the progress of Hurricane Lili and will discuss contingency plans if
Lili threatens the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in
Houston, Texas. Currently, Lili poses no immediate threat to KSC.
Atlantis
and its six-member crew will deliver the S-1 (S-One) Truss to the
International Space Station. The crew will perform three spacewalks at
the station and will transfer supplies and equipment between the two vehicles.
Hurricane Lili is
threatening to delay the launch, even though
KSC is in no danger. This
time, it's Mission control in Houston, Texas that is in for a beating from
Mother Nature.
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