UPDATE: No Landing for today! Thanks a lot, rain clouds. Tomorrow's weather doesn't look so great either, but they'll still give it a try. The next landing opportunity for tomorrow will start with a deorbit burn at approximately 4:45 p.m. and touchdown at 5:48 p.m. EDT. There would be another chance to get into KSC on the next orbit too (6:21pm deorbit burn and 7:23pm landing), followed by two shots to the backup site at Edwards Air Force Base in California. At this point, the formal decision to call up Edwards' support on Friday has not yet been made.
UPDATE: Unstable weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center have left no choice but to scrub today's first landing opportunity. Discovery will remain in space for one more orbit and target a 7:35 p.m. EDT deorbit burn and a nighttime touchdown at 8:40 p.m. EDT.
Discovery will attempt to land at Kennedy Space Center today. The first landing attempt is at 7:05 p.m. EDT and the second at 8:42 p.m. EDT. There are no technical issues with Discovery, but weather forecasters are predicting rain showers and possible thunderstorms in the area that could cause problems for a landing today or tomorrow. There is always Edwards Air Force Base in California as an option for landing, which shows acceptable weather for several days in a row. However, hopefully the weather will cooperate for a landing at Kennedy Space Center today!
2 comments:
Why do they wait so long to close the payload bay doors on the Orbiter?
They are opened shortly after orbit is achieved to allow exposure of the environmental control and life support system radiators to reject heat of the orbiter's systems.
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