spacetoday.net: Shuttle prepared for launch as weather improves

Shuttle prepared for launch as weather improves

Posted: Sat, Jul 1, 2006, 10:24 AM ET (1424 GMT)

Final preparations for Saturday afternoon's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Discovery continued as prospects for favorable weather improved. Discovery is scheduled to lift off on mission STS-121 at 3:49 pm EDT (1949 GMT). Fueling of the shuttle's external tank started Saturday morning, and managers reported one technical problem during the pre-launch preparations: a heater designed to prevent ice from building up on one thruster was operating at a higher-than-normal temperature. The effect this would have on proceeding with the launch wasn't immediately clear. The latest weather forecast predicted a 60% chance of acceptable weather Saturday afternoon, up from 40% in preceding days.