spacetoday.net: Shuttle on track for Sunday launch

Posted: Fri, Aug 25, 2006, 8:05 PM ET (0005 GMT)

NASA officials said Friday that all systems are go for Sunday's launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on a mission to the International Space Station, despite a weather forecast that has worsened slightly. Meteorologists said Friday that there is a 60 percent chance of acceptable weather for the launch Sunday at 4:30 pm EDT (2030 GMT), down from 70 percent the day before; afternoon thunderstorms are the major concern. Other than the weather, though, shuttle managers said there were no technical issues that would prohibit the launch. Atlantis is set to travel to the station on STS-115, the first shuttle mission dedicated to the assembly of the station since 2002. The primary goal of the 11-day mission is to install a new segment of the station's solar array truss. The mission is also the first for Atlantis since 2002; the first two post-Columbia shuttle missions were flown by Discovery.