Shuttle Countdown Is Readied
Work at the launching pad to ready the shuttle Discovery for blastoff on a secret military mission ran smoothly Saturday, the eve of the astronauts’ arrival here.
Shuttle commander Navy Capt. Thomas Mattingly, Air Force Lt. Col. Loren Shriver, Marine Corps Lt. Col. James Buchli, Air Force Maj. Ellison Onizuka and Air Force Maj. Gary Payton are scheduled to arrive about 5 p.m. today to begin final preparations for Wednesday’s liftoff.
Discovery is being readied to take off sometime between 1:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Defense sources say the shuttle’s payload is an Air Force “signals intelligence” spy satellite.
Air Force officials said the exact launching time is secret to hamper Soviet efforts to track the shuttle or its sensitive payload.
In addition, all conversations between the crew and Mission Control will be kept secret for the first time in two decades of American manned spaceflight.
Rocky Raab, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said engineers were on schedule Saturday taking care of last-minute items before the countdown starts early Monday morning.
“Everything’s fine. It’s looking good for Monday,” Raab said.
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