NASA hopes to launch Atlantis today

Atlantis on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center

April 25, 2000
Web posted at: 8:21 a.m. EDT (1221 GMT)

In this story: 1 ton of new supplies, batteries included Station waits for Russian service module RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) --Mission controllers will try again Tuesday afternoon to send the Atlantis on a trip to the fledgling International Space Station.

But the weather forecast looks even less favorable than Monday when high winds forced NASA managers to halt the countdown for a launch minutes before liftoff. If NASA scrubs a Tuesday launch the agency will try again Wednesday afternoon.

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Atlantis, which has undergone months of extensive repairs and renovations, had only a five-minute opportunity to liftoff. The launch window was shorter than usual in order for the shuttle to conserve as much fuel as possible before reaching the space station later this week.

NASA called off the launch Monday with nine minutes remaining in the countdown because winds were gusting at up to 23 mph (37 km/h). In case the shuttle must make an emergency return to the launch site after liftoff, the crosswind limit is 17 mph (27 km/h).

Commander James Halsell Jr. and six crewmates will use the shuttle to hoist the space station. The current orbit of the space station is slightly more than 220 miles (352 km). Yet it loses as much as 1.5 miles (2.4 km) a week in altitude because of atmospheric drag and increased solar activity.

While docked, Atlantis' thrusters will raise the orbit of the station by as much as 19 miles (about 30 km). NASA hopes to avoid using the station's own limited fuel supply for the task.

Fisheye-lens view of Atlantis' new cockpit, which provides color, graphical display readouts

The most important items are four new batteries. Since astronauts last visited the space station last spring, two of the six electricity-producing batteries have failed and another two are showing signs of deterioration.

During the 10-day flight, the astronauts will replace the bad batteries as well as a broken antenna system. In addition, they will secure a loose U.S.-made crane on the outside of the station and finish installing a much larger Russian crane.

"This mission ... effectively jump-starts us back into assembling the International Space Station," said shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore.

The space station was never meant to orbit this long without a service module for guidance and propulsion. But money and rocket problems in Russia have delayed the launch of that module for two years.

Flying with Halsell will be pilot Scott Horowitz and mission specialists Mary Ellen Weber, Jeffrey Williams, James Voss, Susan Helms and Yuri Usachev.

Liftoff of Russia's Zvezda service module is targeted for July. Once the module is docked to the station, shuttles can start hauling up station parts in quick succession and astronauts and cosmonauts finally can move in.

"It's time that we get on with building the International Space Station," said station program manager Tommy Holloway.

The current mission was supposed to follow the service module launch, but NASA moved it up because of the battery problem and declining orbit of the station.

The mission will be Atlantis' first since 1997. The shuttle was out of action so NASA could install a new high-tech cockpit and make more than 100 other improvements. The shuttle also had its electrical wiring checked after a short circuit marred Columbia's launch last summer and temporarily grounded the fleet.

Besides damaged wiring, technicians had to replace an engine containing suspect seals and the control unit for Atlantis' rudder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (OV-104)
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