The Nation - News from April 27, 1989

The countdown for the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis was “squeaky clean” and some work was ahead of schedule, a NASA official at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida said. Six hours after Atlantis rockets into orbit Friday, the astronauts are scheduled to release the Magellan probe from the cargo bay to start it on a 450-day journey to Venus in the first U.S. planetary project in 11 years. The 7,600-pound Venus probe will orbit the cloud-veiled planet and map up to 90% of its surface with high-resolution radar. Its images should reveal details as small as 100 yards across. This is 10 times sharper than any previous pictures of the planet. Air Force Capt. Thomas Strange, shuttle meteorologist, said the only slight weather concern was the possibility of a crosswind of about 17 m.p.h.