Astronauts Don Pressure Suits, Practice Countdown Procedure

Discovery’s astronauts donned orange pressure suits and threw switches in a successful practice countdown Thursday, and space agency officials said they hope later this month to launch the first space shuttle since the Challenger explosion.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to announce a launch date Wednesday, following a two-day flight readiness review here. Officials have been discussing a date from Sept. 26 to 29.

“We clearly demonstrated that we’re ready to pick up the count for real. I hope that we will be able to do that by the end of the month,” Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest S. McCartney told the launch team after the test.

‘Sets the Stage’

“It certainly sets the stage for what we’re about ready to do here in just a few weeks,” launch director Bob Sieck said.

“You have a feeling this train is about to leave the station, and we’re about to get on board,” astronaut John M. Lounge added.

“The enthusiasm around here is obvious,” McCartney said. “It seems to me like we’ve finally got it put back together.”

He referred to the long recovery, with its many setbacks and milestones, from the Challenger explosion that killed seven crew members on Jan. 28, 1986.

Thursday’s practice countdown was the last of those major milestones, and it was completed with only a few minor communications glitches.

Test Ends Late

The communications problems, which involved ground equipment, delayed some practice countdown activities, and the test ended 34 minutes late. A computer stopped the count at six seconds before a mock liftoff, just as it would if there were an engine problem on an actual launch, giving the launch team experience in handling such a situation.

The countdown began Wednesday, and the five-man Discovery crew boarded the shuttle Thursday to participate in the final two hours, throwing switches, testing communications and monitoring systems, just as they will on launch day.